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CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

OF NORTH CAROLINA 
AND THE UNITED STATES 

i 

BY 
■W. J. PEELE 




B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 

ATLANTA RICHMOND DALLAS 






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Copyright, 1907, 1917 
By W. J. Teele 



All rights reserved 



7-17 F*S 



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AUG -6 1917 
©CIA473045 



PREFACE 

The value of an early acquired knowledge of the form and 
operation of our government, state and national, of its founda- 
tion principles, and of the rights, duties, and privileges of its 
citizens, will hardly be overrated. 

Next in importance is the study of the key words — the 
words of legal, special, and technical significance. Viewed 
merely as a mental exercise, there is no study in which the 
character and quality of the mind will be more speedily mani- 
fested and developed. The teacher who is not from the very 
heart appreciative and interested, and the pupil who neglects 
to grasp and hold the essential meanings of the terms in which 
the basic principles are wrapped, will fail together. 

Little of the gold of truth lies upon the surface. The 
treasures in the earth are opened to those who toil and dig, and 
the treasures in the temple of knowledge are opened to those 
who seek and knock. 

A differentiating feature of this book is the careful citation of 
authorities — "a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles." 
Its main purpose is to prepare children for the duties of citizen- 
ship in North Carolina; and to understand these duties, we 
must have a knowledge of the laws and institutions, state and 
national, by and under which our rights and liberties are defined 
and maintained. This brief discussion of the essential princi- 
ples of government and of the familiar constitutional rights and 
duties of citizens is designed for those who will make the desti- 
nies of this commonwealth and help make the destinies of the 
nation. Some of them will help guide the councils of both. No 
one who may become a voter, or who may train voters some day 



vi CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

at a mother's knee, can afford to know less of our laws and insti- 
tutions than is contained in the pages of this book. Its method 
is to illustrate in cases of difficulty, to emphasize and define 
important words and phrases, and to keep ideas and principles 
Y/hich are normally akin grouped together in families. A chief 
merit is its brevity, and perhaps no more credit should be asked 
for what is said than for what is omitted. 

The Great Teacher has taught us how to teach. "Have ye 
not read/' and "I will liken/ 7 , are the phrases which. indicate His 
methods. He used both the history of truth and its relation to 
the things of common knowledge and experience to impress it 
upon the minds of His hearers. So history and illustration are 
the kindly lights which lead us into a knowledge of government, 
of organic law, and of the ideals of civic righteousness. Those 
who have learned of the battles which have raged around the 
establishment of a political principle are best equipped to defend 
and maintain it. If these pages contain sufficient allusion to 
the history of our institutions and sufficient citation of authority 
to suggest the necessity for greater familiarity with original 
sources, they will not have been written in vain. 

The rock-ribbed structure of organic law, like the outline or 
configuration of a range of mountains, must be made familiar by 
views from different standpoints. First its main features should 
be regarded; gradually its order, symmetry, and arrangement 
emerge into view and fall into comprehension ; then near excur- 
sions may be made with pleasure and safety, and investigation 
pursued in detail. The "Grandf ather" peak of our organic law 
is local self-government, whose brow is received into a per- 
petual cloud of historic glory lighted with the light of another 
world, and whose foundations are rooted in individual respon- 
sibility to God. 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND 
EDITION. 

The main purpose of this book is to fit children for the 
duties of citizenship in North Carolina. In fulfilling this 
purpose a careful analysis of the constitutions of the United 
States and North Carolina, with a comparison between them, 
is given at length. The legislation of the last few years has 
resulted in some important changes in the laws, and in the 
new edition these changes are discussed. The sixteenth and 
seventeenth amendments to the United States constitution 
^ave made alterations in the relation of the states and the 
federal governments, and the recasting of the federal 
judiciary is also of importance. As regards the state itself, 
there have been several departments added to the executive, 
and the amendments which came into effct in 1917 have 
restricted the powers of the general assembly in certain ways. 
These amendments are given in full in the North Carolina 
constitution and are also noted under the respective para- 
graphs to which they belong. 

A new feature, valuable in itself and introductory to the 
main purpose of the book, has been added. Like charity, 
the study of civics begins at home, so the pupil is given a 
glimpse of the legal relationships of the members of his 
family with one another and with the rest of the community. 
Having been taught the reason for respect of authority at 
home, he is the more easily taught to appreciate it at school. 
To him the school is the center of community interests. 

[vii] 



viii CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



The teacher is giving more attention to local utilities and 
industries, as well as to government. Taking his cue from 
the suggestions in this book, especially the parts relating to 
community civics, many topics of peculiar interest to his 
locality may be made to serve as an introduction to the more 
comprehensive study of the text. 

When school government is under consideration, an official 
or other citizen who has taken deep interest in education 
should be invited to be present and supplement the study 
with his practical observations and experience. 

When city government is the topic for the day, a short 
talk by the mayor or other proper official would add interest 
to. the lesson; or if the school be in a rural community, the 
speaker may be from some nearby city or town. 

When county government is being studied, a member of 
the board of county commissioners or other county official 
may be induced to tell the children how a county is governed. 

When good roads and how to make them and their relation 
to progress and prosperity are discussed, the road engineer, 
if he is a good one, may interest the children in road building. 

In this way what the pupil has learned may be vitalized 
by personal contact with those who have a working knowl- 
edge of the subjects but briefly treated in a book where so 
many have to be discussed. Even the mistakes of the experi- 
enced worker are more informing than the academic accu- 
racies of those who have never applied their information. 



CONTENTS 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 

Chapter Page 

I. Key Words and Principles 11 

State — Nation — Law — Government. 
II. Formation of Government in North Caro- 
lina 21 

Charter Government — Royal Government — 
The Province Becomes a State — Per- 
manent Government. 

III. Formation of the General Government. . . 33 

The Colonies Unite — Control of Continental 
Congress. 

IV. Outline of Our State and National Con- 

stitutions 46 

The Foundations of Our Law— The Two Fed- 
eral Constitutions Compared — State and 
Federal Governments Compared — 
Amendments to the State Constitu- 
tion — Amendments to the National 
Constitution. 

GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 

V. Legislative Department of The Govern- 
ment of North Carolina 67 

Organization and Structure — Powers and 
Restrictions. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Chapter Pago 

VI. Executive Department op the Govern- 

ment of North Carolina 80 

Organization and Structure — The Governor — 
The Lieutenant Governor — The Secre- 
tary of State— The Auditor— The 
Treasurer — The Superintendent of 
Public Instruction — The Attorney- 
General — Boards and Departments. 

VII. Judicial Department of the Government of 

North Carolina 101 

Structure, Powers, and Jurisdiction — Court 
of Impeachment — The Supreme Court — 
The Superior Court — Other Courts — The 
Corporation Commission. 
VIII. Aids to the Government of North Carolina 116 
The Public School System — State Insti- 
tutions — Municipal Corporations — Cor- 
porations Other Than Municipal. 
IX. Legislative Department of the Govern- 
ment of the United States 129 

Organization and Structure — Powers and Re- 
strictions — Terms and Phrases Defined 
and Explained. 
X. Executive Department of the Government 

of the United States 143 

General Powers and Structure — The Presi- 
dent—The Vice-President— The Cabi- 
net Officers. 
XI. Judicial Department of the Government of 

the United States , 160 

Structure, Powers, and Jurisdiction — The 
Supreme Court — Inferior Courts. 



CONTENTS x* 



Chapter Page 

XII. State, Federal, and Interstate Relations. 166 

Supremacy of the Federal Government — Pro- 
tection to the States — Prohibitions to 
the States — Interstate Relations. 

XIII. Territories 172 

Acquisition — Relation to the Union — Govern- 
ment. 

CITIZENSHIP 

XIV. Qualifications, Privileges, and Disquali- 

fications of Citizens 179 

Qualifications — Privileges — Disqualifications 
for Voting and Holding Office. 

XV. Liberties 187 

Defined and Explained. 

XVI. Rights 191 

Defined and Explained. 

XVII. Safeguards of Rights and Liberties 195 

Training for Citizenship — Safeguards in the 
State Constitution — Safeguards in the 
Federal Constitution — Constitutional 
Safeguards Compared and Explained. 

XVIII. Wrongs and Their Remedies 207 

Classified and Explained — Offenses against 
the State — Offenses against the United 
States — Private Wrongs. 

Conclusion 216 

References] 219 

Constitution of North Carolina 229 

Constitution of the United States 255 

Index , . f 271 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 



FAMILY GOVERNMENT 

X. Parent and Child. — The family was ordained and 
established by God. Ordinarily it consists of the father, 
the mother, and the children. The father is the head of 
the household, and in case of his death, the mother. 

Obedience of children to parents is enjoined by the com- 
mandment: Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days 
may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth 
thee. This is the first commandment with promise, and the 
promise is long life upon the earth as a reward for reverence 
and obedience. As the fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of wisdom, so honor to father and mother is the beginning 
of good character and gives hope of an honorable career. 

As obedience is enjoined upon the child by the laws of 
God and also encouraged by the laws of our state, parents 
should feel bound to require it, and, if necessary, enforce 
it by proper punishment. 

Lender the laws by which we are governed, children are 
subject to their parents until they are twenty-one years of 
age. Before a child becomes twenty-one he is said to be 
under age and is called a minor, and the period up to that 
time is called his minority. When he arrives at the age of 

[l] 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



twenty-one, he is called an adult and is then said to have 
attained his majority. He is a citizen of his state, whether 
minor or adult. When a child becomes of age, he is not 
released from gratitude and obligation to his parents for 
their nurture, protection and guidance, and for his educa- 
tion. The obligation of obedience to parents does not take 
the child out from under his duty to obey the law which 
govern grown people, but rather fits him for a better obedi- 
ence to those laws — the laws of his state and nation and the 
laws of the community in which he lives. 

The child who is disobedient to the authority of parents, 
to the rules or laws of the household, sooner or later 
becomes disobedient to the laws of the state; and parents 
who fail to correct, train, and bring up their child properly, 
may be obliged at last to submit to his being corrected by 
an officer of the law. 

Under the laws of our state, it is the duty of the father 
to maintain and support his children and protect them from 
insult and injury; and he is entitled to their labor, assist- 
ance, earnings, and wages. It is also the duty of the parents 
to train and educate the child in a knowledge of some useful 
employment, that he may become self-supporting, help to 
support others, and, by paying his taxes and doing his duty 
as a citizen, help to maintain his government — the govern- 
ment of his state and nation and of the community in which 
he lives. 

2. Home Training. — The child's education begins at 
the cradle. His first teacher is his mother. His first 
lesson is obedience. The child is born in a world of law, 



FIRST LESSONS 



and the sooner he finds it out the better. He is not so 
much to be governed as trained in the way he should go. 
To train him is to teach him to govern himself, and the 
best teaching is by example. 

His second lesson is justice. He should be taught to 
respect the rights of others: that he cannot have his way 
unless his way is right; that he cannot have the property 
of others without an equivalent, or the consent of the 
owner. 

His third lesson is love. This comes naturally to the 
child that is loved. Children are to be controlled largely 
through their affections. This is the solution of the religious 
problem. The golden rule is its best application. 

His fourth lesson is patriotism. The love of country is 
the soul of democracy and this must be instilled in the 
homa 

Both church and state are what the home makes them. 
The Nazarend began his Father's business in his home life 
in subjection to his parents. 

it's home again! and home again! America for me! 

1 want a ship that's homeward bound! to plow the rolling sea, 
To the blessed land of "room-enough," beyond the ocean bars, 
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. 

3. Adoption of Minor Children. — Adoption is the act by 
which a person takes the child of another into his family 
and treats him as his own. The law allows adoption for 
the benefit of the child and prescribes the method by 
which it shall be done. The clerk of the superior court is 
the officer to whom the law has given the authority to 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



allow adoption. The person who desires to adopt a child 
writes a petition to the clerk of the court of the county 
in which the child lives stating the reasons why he should 
be adopted and asking that the petitioner (the person who 
writes the petition) be allowed to adopt him. If the peti- 
tioner is found to be a suitable person to take care of the 
child, educate him, and bring him up in the way he should 
go, the clerk of the court will allow the adoption and write 
an order for him to become a member of the petitioner's 
family ; and this order of the clerk has the effect of establish- 
ing the legal relation of parent and child, with the duties, 
powers, and rights belonging to such relationship. The order 
may allow the relationship to continue during minority or 
for life, as may be desired ; and it may be made to have the 
further effect of entitling the child to become the heir of the 
person who adopts him- — that is, to inherit or succeed to the 
property of such person upon his death. 

4. Apprenticeship. — Boys between the ages of fourteen 
and twenty-one years, and girls between the ages of fourteen 
and eighteen years may be apprenticed by their father to 
a proper person to learn a useful trade or employment. If 
the father be dead or incapacitated, the minor may be 
apprenticed by the mother. Where a minor has neither 
father nor mother and no competent person to act for him, 
he may, with the consent of the clerk of the superior court 
of the county in which he lives, apprentice or bind himself 
out to a person approved by the clerk of the court. 

The person to whom a minor is apprenticed is called his 
employer, and the minor is called an apprentice. 



FIRST LESSONS 



The purpose of the apprenticeship is to benefit the child 
by having him taught some useful employment to enable 
him to make his living, become a useful citizen, and prevent 
his being a. charge on the community. 

A boy named Andrew Johnson was apprenticed to a citizen 
of Raleigh to learn the trade of a tailor. He afterwards 
became President of the United States, but he never forgot 
his trade, by means of which he made a living while he was 
educating himself in a knowledge of the laws, government, 
and institutions of his country. 

The employer makes a written contract in which he 
agrees that the apprentice shall be carefully and skilfully 
taught the trade or employment described in the writing, 
and this writing also specifies the length of the term of 
apprenticeship, the wages agreed upon, the times in the 
year at which they shall be paid; and binds the employer 
to provide for the apprentice's board, medical attention, 
lodging and clothes, the education required by law, and 
the additional education agreed upon in the writing. 

The apprentice is also bound not to leave his employer 
during the term of his apprenticeship ; and if any appren- 
tice shall leave his employer without his consent or with- 
out lawful cause "and shall refuse to return, he may be 
arrested by order of a justice of the peace and compelled 
to return to his employer, or he may be otherwise dealt 
with according to law. 

Since industrial education is fast becoming a part of 
our school system, the practice of apprenticing minors 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



has become less common, though there are occasions and 
conditions where it is still used to advantage. 

5. Guardian and Ward. — A guardian is one who has 
the care of the person and property of a minor during his 
minority, and such minor is called his ward. Sometimes 
the custody of a ward may be committed to one person and 
the management of the property to another. 

The father is the natural guardian of his minor child, 
and in case of his death, the mother. The father, with 
the consent of the mother, may by a writing called a deed, 
which usually takes effect at once, or by a writing called a 
will, which takes effect after his death, appoint a guardian 
for his minor child; this appointment may also be made 
by the mother if the father dies without making one. 

Every guardian is required by law to take possession 
of all of his ward's property. He must faithfully keep and 
manage the same, and, so far as may be necessary, provide 
for the support, maintenance, and education of his ward 
out of it. He must secure his ward's property and the 
faithful performance of his duties as guardian by giving 
a bond. 

The guardian must render every year to the clerk of the 
superior court an account of his management and dealings 
with the ward's property. When his ward arrives at the 
age of twenty-one, the guardian must file a final account with 
the clerk of the superior court showing the estate which ought 
to come to him after all the lawful expenditures for his 
benefit have been deducted, and he shall then settle with 
him and turn the property over to him together with its 
increase. 



FIRST LESSONS 



SCHOOL GOVEENMENT 

6. School Training. — When the child goes to school, he 
usually undergoes his first experience with authority outside 
of his home. He meets there other children, some older 
and some perhaps younger than himself, all of whom have 
come together under the control of the teacher for the same 
purpose — that of being instructed in and learning the things 
which will be useful to them throughout life. The teacher 
cannot afford to take up too much time with one pupil, 
so he is put in a class with others, and in this way learns 
his first lesson of team work. He finds out then that he 
can learn more in studying with others than by himself; 
that he is helped by others interested in the same thing; 
that he obeys his teacher better and easier because he sees 
others obedient. Before he went to school he was liable to 
think only, or mainly, about what occurred in his own home, 
but now he is interested in the boys and girls at school from 
other homes, and they also become interested in him. 

Having learned at home to obey his parents, he finds it all 
the easier to understand and obey the rules of the school. 
He soon looks upon it, his teacher and all, as a unit — one 
in interest and in sympathy — and he develops a school pride ; 
rejoices in having the best school library and the best school 
farm, and in the betterment association. He is eager for 
his school to excel all others. This is his first lesson in 
patriotism. 

7. First Lessons in Leadership. — The child now begins 
to notice those who contribute most to the distinction 



8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

of his school, and so he learns his first lesson in leader- 
ship. It is a great and abiding lesson for us all to be able 
to distinguish and select our real leaders in any emergency. 
The best speaker or debater in the school is our boy's class- 
mate or at least his schoolmate, and so, too, is the best 
swimmer, the fastest runner, the most expert pitcher, and 
the surest player on the baseball team; he is one of them 
and he pits them against any other school or community. 
He has caught the necessity of obedience, organization, and 
leadership. His class feeling intensifies his patriotism. 

In his contests with other schools he despises the faint- 
hearted as traitors. He learns from his adversaries by 
contact with them, and by his mistakes educates himself 
in the slow, hard lesson of preparedness. Finding that the 
careless player loses the ball game, he sympathizes with his 
teacher in her efforts to correct the careless speller, the 
slovenly writer, and the boy who takes no interest in the 
history and government of his state and nation. He is 
reminded, too, that the boy who told him a story about 
the game told his teacher one about his lesson — that this 
was the same boy who told his mother he had bought on 
Saturday the fish he caught on Sunday, and that his father 
said that a lie was worse than fishing on the Sabbath. 

Having learned the lesson of loyalty to his school, it is 
easy for him to learn loyalty to his state and country, and 
this is patriotism. 

Learning while young what constitutes leadership among 
boys, he finds it easy after he becomes a man to know and 



FIRST LESSONS 



select leaders in the government of his state and nation. He 
observes that leadership acquired in the debating society 
■usually continues in the courts and legislature. 

Respect for his teacher and schoolmates wins for him 
their respect, which afterward develops into honor and esteem 
for him among the people who know him. 

He observes as he goes along through life that the boys 
who continuously shirked their duties at school and who 
did not profit by example or correction, are the same who, 
after they grow up, shirk their duties as men. Those who 
were too lazy to learn the meaning of hard words and 
stumbled over their lessons without honestly trying to under- 
stand them, are usually the same who stumble along in life 
without success. 

COMMUNITY CIVICS 

8. In the Country. — Life in the country is now made 
more attractive than ever by education, which gives a 
knowledge of the advantages that are peculiar to each locality. 
The best speakers acquaint themselves with the facilities 
and needs of the neighborhood before they make addresses 
at the schoolhouse. The purpose of modern training is that 
the pupil shall not only know himself, but that he shall 
also understand what nature has done for him at his very 
door. Education now embraces a scientific and practical 
knowledge of soils, seeds, plants, and crops. The farmer 
and the farmer's boy may know with certainty what fertiliz- 
ing properties the soil lacks, the crops for which it is best 
adapted, and how to supply its deficiencies in the cheapest 



10 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

manner. They may now consult at their home specialists 
on diseases of plants and animals, and, if attentive, may 
learn the means which have been discovered to prevent and 
cure them. The farmer's boy has the opportunity of being 
educated in the business of farming. 

The farm-life school will eventually develop a model farm 
in every township, which will be an object lesson to tho 
people, young and old ; on this the costly work of experiment 
will be cheapened and borne by all who are benefited. 

9. In the City — "The City Beautiful" in all its aspects 
is still a dream unrealized. Hard by a street, with its great 
white way of light and progress, may creep another street 
foul of eight and offensive in odor — a street of dilapidated 
signs, dingy business fronts and thick mud may cross another 
blazing in the brilliancy of electric lights and paved with, 
the most costly asphalt. 

In the business and science of government the city lags 
behind. Usually too expensive, the administration of cities 
is also inefficient. America, foremost in so many things, 
is slow to find and apply the remedy for prevailing city 
conditions. The reform of American cities is our great 
problem, and the problem for the coming generation. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



'CHAPTER I 

KEY WORDS AND PRINCIPLES 

In order to -understand principles, it is necessary to have a 
clear idea of tlie terms by which they are expressed and 
defined. This is illustrated at the very outset of the study of 
civil government by a consideration of the words 'state', 
'nation', 'law', and 'government.' 

STATE 

I. 'State' Defined.— The word 'state' literally signifies to 
stand, to be fixed or established. It has in it the idea of 
permanence. A state is an established community of people 
occupying a fixed territory, and united under a distinct gov- 
ernment that has sovereign, or supreme powers. When there 
are two governments over one people, as the state and the 
United States, these powers are divided between them. The 
term 'state' sometimes refers to the people, sometimes to the 
territory they occupy, and often to the government by which 
they exercise their powers. It is essential that a state should 
be able to make and enforce laws, and that its authority and 
the integrity of its organization should be respected by the 
other states with which it deals. 

[11] 



12 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

2. State of the American Union. — The government of a 
state of the American Union is a limited sovereignty, — that is, 
the state is sovereign only in those matters which relate solely 
to its own people, in those which it has not delegated to the 
nation. In what concerns the rights and interests of the 
whole Union, or of two or more states, the United States is 
supreme. On this account, one state deals with a foreign 
state or nation only through the national government. This 
government may protect a state, but cannot lawfully destroy 
it or allow it to be destroyed by any foreign power. So the 
territory of a state cannot without its consent be divided or 
made part of another state; nor can a state be deprived of 
equal representation in the 2 senate of the United States. The 
hope of the founders of our nation was that ours should be an 
'indestructible union of indestructible states/ 

NATION 

3. 'Nation' Defined. — Literally the word 'nation' signifies 
a people sprung from the same ancestry — a people having 
unity of origin or birth. This unity may be one of blood, 
of interests, or of laws, customs, and institutions. The word 
'nation' as used in this book means a people or community 
associated together and organized under one government, and 
usually dwelling together in a distinct territory. 

When a people are united only, or mainly, by ties of blood, 
they are usually called a tribe. They may move about in a 
body from one territory to another and still preserve their 
tribal relation ; but a nation, like a state, has a fixed place of 
abode. A nation is in fact a state; but the word 'state' is 
1 For references indicated by small figures see pages 219-227. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 13 

often restricted in meaning so as to imply only a part of a 
nation; as, for example, a state of the American Union. 

In our country both state and nation possess powers of 
government independent of outside control. Every state in 
the Union is sovereign and supreme in those matters which 
relate solely to its own people; and the United States is su- 
preme in matters which concern the 'general welfare' of the 
states; or better stated, the sovereignty of a state extends 
to all matters not delegated to the Union. The word ' state' 
was adopted by the thirteen colonies which formed the Union 
to describe each of their respective governments and peoples. 
The word 'nation' has been accepted as the correct term to 
use when speaking of the whole people of the United States. 

On the other hand, a state may be composed of two or more 
nations or peoples. Russia, for example, is a great state 
which is naturally divided into two or more different peoples. 
These were once distinct nations and even now may be so con- 
sidered, though they have a union more or less complete under 
one government. The power of the sword and a widespread 
similarity of religion are the principal ties which bind these 
peoples or nations together in one state. 

4. Decay of Nations. — Like individuals, a state or nation, 
or body politic, as the lawyers often call it, is subject to disease 
and decay. The track of time is strewn thick with the wrecks 
of communities, or aggregations of men, and their rise and 
destruction is the principal topic of history. 

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire gives us an 
example of nearly all the ills that afflict nations and govern- 
ments. The worst of these ills are: the love of bloodshed 



14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

and war; the lust for conquest and power; avarice and cov- 
etousness, which are the worship of money and the things 
which money will buy; the strife of factions contending for 
the control of the power to collect taxes ; the use of the taxes 
to enrich individuals rather than to benefit the people, th6 
making of laws which operate unequally — laws which certain 
classes of citizens may evade or refuse to obey, or laws which 
bestow special privileges upon some while withholding them 
from others, or laws which throw the burden of supporting 
the government upon those least able to bear it, neglect of the 
people to instruct themselves and educate their children in the 
vital principles of government, morality, and religion. These 
are the evils which overthrow states and destroy peoples and 
plunge them into the punishment reserved for the nations 
that forget God. 

LAW 

5. Natural Law. — The law of gravitation, by which men 
and houses are kept to the earth, and by which the earth is 
held and follows its path around the sun, is a law of nature. 
A disregard of this law, as the throwing of oneself from a high 
place, is punished with injury to the body. Violations of 
nature's laws usually carry with them their own punishment. 

6. Moral Law. — "Thou shalt not steal" is a moral law; 
"Thou shalt do no murder" is another. These and other moral 
laws, which have been adopted by men, are written in their 
hearts or implanted in their consciences. They were enforced 
and violations of them were punished long before any law 
books were made, and doubtless long before there was any 
regularly established government. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 15 

7. Human Law. — In an ideal world, with the perfect law 
of love in every heart, there would be little need of any other 
kind of law. To be free to do right would be the best definition 
of liberty. But as society advances, — that is, as civilization 
increases — man's power to do mischief is greater; hence it has 
become necessary to make laws to narrow, curtail, and guard 
his freedom. Such laws are called human laws. 

8. How Laws are Made. — In our country law is made by 
the people through representatives elected for that purpose. 
State law is made by the people of the state; United States 
law, by the people of the United States, — that is, by the 
people of the different states which compose the Union acting 
together through those whom they have chosen to represent 
them in its management. The x Congress of the United States 
is composed of representatives chosen by the people of the 
several states. A state legislature is composed of represen- 
tatives, or delegates as they are sometimes called, elected 
by the people of a particular state to make laws for that state 
only. 

Representatives are elected to make laws because it is not 
practicable for the people themselves to assemble in legislative 
halls and carry on such business. The people are too numer- 
ous to assemble; and, besides, the plan of representation 
gives them an opportunity to choose, if they will, the best 
and wisest among them as their lawmakers and leaders. In 
free countries the officers of government are called public 
servants, and such indeed they are. When the people select 
for public servants such as seek mainly private gain, they will 
be misgoverned; but, "When the righteous are in authority 
the people rejoice." 



16 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



The legislature of North Carolina is called the general 
assembly. Laws enacted by legislative bodies, such as Con- 
gress and the state legislatures, are called statutes. The 
decisions and opinions of the courts determine the law or its 
meaning in particular cases, and these serve as guides when 
similar cases arise. 

9. Punishment. — Man, who is made in the image of God, 
has imitated his Creator both in making laws and in punish- 
ing their violation. Punishment by human law is the depri- 
vation of some right, as taking away the right of personal 
liberty by imprisonment; or the deprivation of some privi- 
lege, as preventing one from voting or holding office. 

Punishment in North Carolina is by removal from office, 
fines, imprisonment with or without hard labor, and death. 
Its purpose is to deter evildoers from breaking the law and 
to reform the lawbreakers. The policy of our law is to fine 
or imprison for small offences, to imprison with hard labor 
for the greater, and to hang by the neck until dead for the 
greatest of all. 

GOVERNMENT 

10. 'Government* Defined. — Government may be defined 
as the agency or combination of agencies by which the laws 
are made and carried out. The government of North Caro- 
lina is administered, or conducted, by officers appointed and 
elected under state laws. The government of the United 
States is administered by officers appointed and elected under 
the laws of the nation. The powers of both state and nation 
are limited by law. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 17 

ii. Forms of Government. — Governments differ in form 
according to the different tempers, dispositions, and needs 
of the people who maintain and obey them. 

The United States is a republic. The word 'republic' is 
of Latin origin and means the rule of the people at large 
through officers chosen by them or appointed by those whom 
the people elect. Such is the government of North Caro- 
lina and of each of the other states composing our union. The 
constitution of the United States guarantees to every state 
"a republican form of government/' — that is, a government 
having a form or frame that secures to the people the control 
of their own affairs. 

The word 'democracy' is of Greek origin and signifies 
"power in the people." A democracy is a government in 
which the people hold and exercise all the powers. They 
make and execute laws, either directly by an assembly of 
themselves or indirectly through their representatives, agents, 
and officers. In the latter sense democracy does not differ 
materially from a republic. The nearer the government is 
to the people — the more of its officers they choose or elect 
directly — the more democratic it is. For example, North 
Carolina is more democratic than the United States. In the 
former the people elect the governor, the judges of the supreme 
and superior courts, and other state officers, the members of 
the legislature, and the various county officers. In the latter, 
however, the people elect only the members of Congress and 
the presidential electors — persons chosen by each state to 
elect the president and vice-president. The other officers of 
the national government are appointed either by the president 
or in such manner as Congress by law provides. 



18 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Local self-government, which is the life of a democracy, 
exists where each community has control of its own affairs. 
It is opposed to centralization, which exists where the local 
as well as the general government is administered or carried 
on from one center of power. 

A monarchy is an example of a centralized government. 
The words means "the rule of one." The government of a 
monarchy is so framed that a single individual may control 
it and the title to it may be, and usually is, passed by law on 
to other members of the monarch's family. 

There are two kinds of monarchy, — absolute and limited. 
An absolute monarchy is one which is ruled over absolutely 
by a monarch and his advisers, and in which the people have 
no voice in choosing their officers. Siam is an example of such 
a government. A limited monarchy is one in which the will 
of its monarch is limited by law or by the lawmaking power. 
England is an example of such a government. Parliament 
is its legislature or chief lawmaking power, the more impor- 
tant branch of which, the House of Commons, is elected by 
the people. The king is in fact a ruler only in name ; though 
he receives a much larger salary, he has considerably less 
power than the president of the United States. 

12. Purposes of Government. — The main purposes of a 
just government are to preserve its honor and integrity, to 
protect the people against enemies at home and abroad, and 
to secure them in the enjoyment of their liberties and in 
the exercise of their rights. To this end laws are made and 
violations of law are punished. The power to make laws 
carries with it the power to prescribe punishment for. their 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 19 

violation. In order to defray the expenses of enforcing the 
laws, taxes are collected. 

A great and growing purpose of government is to secure 
peace. lu To insure domestic tranquility" is one of the rea- 
sons given for the establishment of the American Union. 
War can be justified only when its purpose is to place peace on 
a more enduring basis. Slowly the nations of the earth are 
learning to settle their disputes by arbitration, which is sub- 
mitting the matter in controversy to the judgment of disin- 
terested persons or of governments not concerned in the 
quarrel. 

In the eyes of law peace reigns over all the land — in the 
home, on the highway, in the streets of towns and villages, in 
the quiet of. the deep-shaded forest. Everyone has the right 
to move about in safety and security, pursue his lawful busi- 
ness, and enjoy his freedom under the law. The peace is 
broken when some crime or violation of law is committed. 
Every public wrong is a "breach of the peace." Wrongdoers 
are hunted down and separated from peaceful citizens by 
confinement in prison; in indictments, or public accusations 
against them, they are charged with having committed offences 
against the "peace and dignity of the state." 

The real strength of a just government lies in the virtue, 
intelligence, and bravery of the people who support and obey 
it, and it will receive such support and obedience SO' long 
as it meets their wishes and needs. 

13. Purposes of the National Government — The purposes 
of the United States government are best expressed in the 
language of the preamble, or opening sentence, of the consti- 
tution : 



20 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quility, provide for the common defence, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the 
United States of America." 

14. Purposes of the State Government. — The purpose of 
the government of North Carolina is expressed in the pre- 
amble to its constitution: 

"We, the people of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty 
God, the Sovereign ruler of nations, for the preservation of 
the American Union, and the existence of our civil, political, 
and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence 
upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and 
our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof, and 
for the better government of this state, ordain and establish 
this constitution." 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. How many states are there in the American Union? 

2. Where do tribal governments chiefly prevail? 

3. Name several tribes that live in this country. 

4. Name some nations which have fallen from causes similar to those which 

overthrew the Roman Empire . 

5. Who was the great lawgiver of the Old Testament? 

6. What moral laws were given through him? 

7. What are the two most common forms of government now existing? 

8. What form predominates on the western continent? on the eastern? 

9. Name two republics in Europe; one in Africa. 

10. What part of North America is not under a republican government ? 

11. What is the title of the chief ruler of England? Germany? Russia? France? 

Turkey? Persia? Brazil? Japan? 



CHAPTER II 
FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA 



CHARTER GOVERNMENT 

15. Raleigh's Charter. — The first government of English- 
speaking people in North Carolina was likewise their first 
government in America. It was conducted under the char- 
ter, or writ of authority, granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir 
Walter Raleigh, dated March 25, 1584. This government 
was practically begun upon the landing of Governor Ralph 
Lane's colony on Roanoke Island in August, 1585. 

The charter of the British queen guaranteed to settlers in 
the territory the same rights and liberties that were possessed 
by freemen in England. It transplanted into America the 
protection of English law. It allowed special laws to be made 
for the government of the colony by those who were respon- 
sible therefor, provided, however, that "the statutes, laws, 
and ordinances may be, as near as conveniently, agreeable to 
the form of the laws, statutes, government or policy of Eng- 
land." The children of all English subjects born in America 
were to enjoy all the rights and privileges of persons born 
in England. 

The power of administering the government of Governor 
John White's colony, which came over to the shores of North 
Carolina in 1587, was vested in the governor and twelve assis- 
tants. 

121] 



22 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

1 6. Charter of the Lords Proprietors. — After White's colony 
disappeared, there is no record of any government in North 
Carolina until 1663. In that year William Drummond was 
appointed under the authority of the charter which had 
been lately granted by the English king, Charles II, to the 
eight persons known in history as the lords proprietors. This 
charter of 1663 and the one amending it in 1665 conveyed to 
the proprietors the title to all the land in the southern part 
of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans 
included within the parallels of 36°, 30' and 29° north latitude. 
This, as will be seen from the maps, included what is now the 
state of North Carolina. 

Among the other powers of government which these char- 
ters conferred on the lords proprietors was that of " enacting 
laws and constitutions for the people of that province by and 
with the advice, assent, and approbation of the freemen 
thereof or of the greater part of them or of their delegates or 
deputies." In this manner it was provided that the people 
should have a voice in their own government; the right so 
guaranteed they would never surrender, either to the pro- 
prietors during their government or afterwards to the king 
of England. 

17. Charter as Constitution. — The word constitution as 
used in these charters had not then been exactly restricted 
to its present meaning; but then as now it carried with it the 
idea of a frame or plan of government. All forms of colonial 
government were more or less experimental and intended to 
serve their purpose until something of a more lasting nature 
could be devised. They were, therefore, more subject to 
change and amendment than the present carefully considered 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 



constitutions by and under which the governments of the 
states and nation are now carried on. 

There w r ere, however, certain forms of law and safeguards 
of liberty which the charters expressly guaranteed or did not 
attempt to take away. These the colonists regarded as in the 
nature of a contract between them and the British govern- 
ment. This contract they looked upon as permanent and 
as having very much the same force and obligation as are 
possessed by the constitutions of the present day. 

18. Governor and Legislature. — There were, under the 
proprietors, a governor and a council and the delegates or 
representatives of the people. The governor was appointed 
by the proprietors, as was also the council, though members 
of it were sometimes appointed by him. The delegates were 
elected by the people they represented, or stood in the place 
of in the business of making laws for the colony. The dele- 
gates were sometimes called deputies, and the councillors 
were also called deputies of the proprietors. 

The legislature was composed of two houses. The gov- 
ernor and members of the council formed one house, and the 
delegates, or representatives (also called assemblymen), 
formed the other. They made such laws as the proprietors 
and their charters permitted them to make. These laws 
the proprietors claimed the right to veto or nullify. The 
colonists, however, all the while insisted that the charters 
guaranteed to them certain constitutional rights which the 
proprietors could not override or take away. 

19. Locke's Constitution. — In 1669 the proprietors under- 
took to establish what was probably the most aristocratic 



24 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

form of government ever set up in America. It was called 
the "Grand Model" or "Fundamental Constitutions/' which 
is said to have been written by the great philosopher John 
Locke. It is quite likely, however, that he no more than 
assisted in putting into logical system the ideas of the pro- 
prietors. Their purpose was to enrich themselves, their 
friends, and dependents at the expense of those whom they had 
undertaken to govern. Opposing this purpose were the men 
who with gun and axe were pioneering their way through 
forest and swamp, and river and sound ; they were determined 
that their own people should reap the benefits of their labors. 
For more than twenty years the people resisted the various 
attempts of the proprietors to enforce obedience to their 
"Grand Model," or to the modified forms of it, by which they 
sought to sugar-coat its worst features. This resistance 
marks the beginning of the long struggle which a century 
later, in the Revolutionary War, broke the enslaving shackles 
of British interests in America. 

EOYAL GOVERNMENT 

20. Proprietors Superseded by the King. — Tiring of their 
attempts to govern the colonists and being offered a large 
amount of money for their interests in Carolina, the proprie- 
tors in 1728 concluded an agreement with the British king 
whereby they surrendered their charters, which included all 
their powers of government. The next year this agreement 
was confirmed by an act of Parliament. The province then 
came under the direct control of the British government, and 
the king, instead of the proprietors, began to appoint the col- 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 25 

onial governors and the members of the council. Such other 
general officers as were thought proper for the colony were 
also appointed by direct authority of the British government. 
As in the days of the proprietors, the governor sat with his 
council. The colonists continued to elect members of the 
assembly to represent their interests in the colonial legislature. 
This form of government continued until, in the Revolu- 
tionary War, the people finally won the right to govern 
themselves. 

21. Spirit of Independence — The disappointment of those 
who undertake to rule a liberty-loving people for the enrich- 
ment of the few, rather than for the common benefit of all, 
was perhaps never better voiced than in an official document 
of Governor Burrington concerning the North Carolinians of 
his time. In 1732, twenty-three years before the Stamp Act 
Congress, he wrote: 

"The people are neither to be cajoled or outwitted ; when- 
ever a governor attempts to effect anything by these means 
he will lose his labor and show his ignorance. . . . They 
insist that no public money can or ought to be paid but by a 
claim given to and allowed by the house of burgesses/' 

The house of burgesses here spoken of was the assembly 
branch of the legislature, elected by the people of the colony. 
The people insisted that no money should be appropriated 
or used to pay any claim without the approval and consent 
of this branch of the assembly. The council was sometimes 
called the 'upper house/ after the style of the House of Lords 
in the British Parliament. Finally this became a term of 
derision as indicating a disposition to ape that partly aristo- 
cratic government. 



26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

THE PROVINCE BECOMES A STATE 

22. The People Unite. — It is now proper to show the steps 
by which this British province became an independent state. 
The separation of the province from Great Britain, the forma- 
tion of a state government, and the uniting of North Carolina 
with the other states were affected by means of five meetings 
of the people's chosen representatives. Those meetings, or 
Congresses, as they were called, are mentioned in the order in 
which they occurred. 

23. First Provincial Congress. — The first Provincial Con- 
gress of North Carolina, or " general meeting' ' of the delegates 
elected without authority of the British government, met at 
New Bern, August 25, 1774. It was the beginning of organ- 
ized revolutionary government in the province. Martin, the 
last governor appointed by the British king, issued his proc- 
lamation denouncing the election of this Congress and for- 
bidding its assembly as illegal and treasonable. It met in 
defiance of him. Colonel John Harvey was elected moderator, 
as the presiding officer was then called. 

This Congress resolved among other things to stop all ex- 
ports and imports to and from Great Britain, until the rights 
of the colonists should be declared and acknowledged. Im- 
ports into the colony from Great Britain were to be stopped 
after the first day of January, 1775. Exports from the colony 
to Great Britain were to be stopped after the first day of 
October, 1775. 

There was a Committee of Correspondence for the province 
whose duties were to keep in communication with similar 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 27 

committees in the other colonies and with the local Committees 
of Five elected in the several counties. These local organi- 
zations were also called Committees of Safety. In many 
instances they assumed powers of government and carried 
out the will of the people. At the same time the provincial 
government in the counties was asserting or attempting to 
assert the authority of the king. 

This Congress also appointed delegates to the general Con- 
gress of the colonies which was to meet at Philadelphia in 
September following. That body is known in history as the 
first Continental Congress (§35). 

24. Second Provincial Congress. — The second Provincial 
Congress, or convention, as it was called, met at New Bern, 
April 3, 1775. John Harvey was again elected moderator. 
He was also the speaker or presiding officer of the assembly 
branch of the colonial legislature, which was in session at 
New Bern at the same time in response to the call of Gover- 
nor Martin. Sixty-one members of the assembly were also 
members of the Congress. The patriots controlled both 
bodies. This assembly was the last called together under 
British authority. The provincial governor, finding it out 
of harmony with his views, dissolved it, April 8, 1775. The 
Congress, however, was a revolutionary body which he could 
not so adjourn at pleasure; though as a matter of fact, after 
finishing its business, its session came to an end, about 
the same time the assembly was dissolved. 

The principal acts of this Congress were to compliment and 
endorse the conduct of its delegates to the first Continental 
Congress, to approve the proceedings of that body, and to 
appoint delegates to the second Continental Congress, which 



28 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

was to meet at Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. The work of these 
delegates, the instructions under which they acted, and North 
Carolina's part in the formation of a general government will 
be considered in a subsequent chapter. 

25. Third Provincial Congress The third Provincial 

Congress met at Hillsborough, August 21, 1775. Samuel 
Johnston was chosen president. War with Great Britain had 
already commenced. The battle of Lexington had been 
fought and Governor Martin, threatened by the North Caro- 
lina militia, had taken refuge in a British ship near the mouth 
of the Cape Fear river. :? 

This Congress appointed a committee to prepare an address 
to the people of North Carolina. This address declared that 
it was right to have a revolutionary government in the pro- 
vince and that the people should take up arms in defence of 
American liberty. 

This Congress also adopted a plan of government. It pro- 
vided for a Provincial Council to consist of thirteen persons. 
In general, the Congress gave this council the power to do and 
transact all such matters and things as in its judgment were 
needed to strengthen, secure, and defend the colony; but 
its authority was not to extend to altering or suspending any 
act or resolution of the Congress. 

The council organized at Johnston Courthouse, now Smith- 
field, October 18, 1775, with Cornelius Harnett as its first 
president. It carried on the government and conducted the 
war under the powers granted by the Congress. 

The plan of government also provided for a Committee of 
Safety in each of the six districts into which North Carolina 
was then divided. Each district Committee of Safety con- 



FORMATION OF VOVERKMENT 29 

sisted of a president and twelve other members. These com- 
mittees in their respective districts, under the control of the 
Provincial Council, were to direct the operations of the mili- 
tia and exercise such powers of government as were delegated 
to them. 

The affairs of the counties and towns were conducted by 
committees elected by the people. These committees were 
under the control of the district Committees of Safety and of 
the Provincial Council. 

26. Fourth Provincial Congress. — The fourth Provincial 
Congress met at Halifax, April 4, 1776, with Samuel John- 
ston again as its president. 

This Congress abolished the Provincial Council and exist- 
ing district Committees of Safety, and created a body of 
thirteen persons called a Council of Safety. The government 
of the colony was entrusted to this council until the meeting 
of the next Congress. 

This Congress, in the spirit which first openly man- 
ifested itself in Mecklenburg county, instructed its dele- 
gates in the Continental Congress to vote in favor of inde- 
pendence from Great Britain. It resolved, April 12, 1776, 
"That the delegates for this colony in the Continental Con- 
gress be impowered to concur with the delegates of the other 
colonies in declaring independence and forming foreign alli- 
ances, reserving to this colony the sole and exclusive right of 
forming a constitution and laws for this colony." 

27. Fifth Provincial Congress. — The fifth Provincial Con- 
gress met at Halifax, November 12, 1776. The next day a 
committee was appointed to prepare a bill of rights and to 



30 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



frame a constitution for the government of the state. The 
committee reported December 6th. After careful considera- 
tion and amendment, the constitution and declaration of 
rights of 1776 were adopted by the Congress, and so became 
the organic law of North Carolina. Under this law the people 
organized a permanent government. 

PERMANENT GOVERNMENT 

28. Officers Elected. — In this first permanent government 
established by the people after they broke away from British 
rule, both houses of the legislature were elected by them; the 
governor and other state officers' and judges were elected by 
the legislature. Now, however, the governor and other state 
officers and the judges are elected by the people. 

29. Veto Power Withheld. — The power which the colonial 
governors had of proroguing, or adjourning, the legislature 
and of vetoing its acts has not been given to the governors 
since North Carolina became a state. In many other states 
of the Union the governors have the veto power. In North 
Carolina this power was used to uphold British tyranny, 
and on that account it has never been popular with our people. 

30. Fundamental Principles. — The principles imbedded in 
this constitution for the protection of human rights still remain 
a part of our organic law. On the next two pages are given 
ten sections of its declaration of rights signed by Richard 
Caswell, president of the body which framed it and later 
elected by the general assembly as the first governor of North 
Carolina after it became a state. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 31 

1. "That all men have a natural and unalienable right to 
worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own 
consciences." 

2. "That all political power is vested in and derived from 
the people only." 

3. "That the people have a right to assemble together, to 
consult for their common good, to instruct their representa- 
tives, and to apply to the legislature for redress of grievances." 

4. "That the freedom of the press is one of the great bul- 
warks of liberty, and therefore ought never to be restrained." 

5. "That every freeman restrained of his liberty, is entitled 
to a remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to 
remove the same if unlawful, and that such remedy ought not 
to be denied or delayed." 

6. "That no freeman ought to be taken, imprisoned, or 
disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed 
or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, 
liberty or property, but by the law of the land." 

7. "That no freeman shall be convicted of any crime, but 
by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men 
in open court, as heretofore used." 

8. "That in all controversies of law respecting property, 
the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities 
of the people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable." 

9. "That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the 
genius of a free state, and ought not to be allowed." 

The perpetuities referred to, if allowed, would enable pro- 
perty owners, by will and other writings, to direct to whom 
their property should go for an indefinite period after their 
death. 



32 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



'Monopoly' means powers and privileges granted to one or 
more persons to the exclusion of others. 

10. "That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors, 
ought to be granted or conferred in this state." 

Hereditary emoluments are those which may be inherited 
like property. 

The meaning, force and effect of these provisions and of 
others equally important brought forward in our existing 
constitution are discussed more fully in these pages under 
their appropriate headings. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. What English queen was the patron, or friend, of Sir Walter Raleigh? 

2. What state derives its name from that sovereign? 

3. What territory was embraced in the charter granted to Raleigh? 

4. After what king were the Carolinas named? 

5. After whom is the capital of North Carolina named? 

6. What states and parts of states were embraced in the grant of land to the 

lords proprietors? 

7. Why did Locke's plan of government fail? 

8. Which branch of the colonial legislature resembled the House of Com- 

mons? Which resembled the House of Lords? 

9. Name at least five states whose governors have the veto power. 

10. What do you understand by "unalienable right?" by "redress of griev- 
ances?" by "freedom of the press?" by "freedom of speech?" by 
" freedom of assembly V 9 



CHAPTER III 
FORMATION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT 



THE COLONIES UNITE 

31. Causes of Union. — The general government was framed 
by the thirteen states, or colonies, as they were called until 
they became states by their secession from Great Britain. 
This government grew out of the necessity for combined action 
for mutual protection against common enemies. The greater 
the peril the closer the colonies drew together; finally they 
became united under one government in all matters and for 
all purposes which concerned their common defense and 
general welfare. 

In the earlier days there were many reasons that impelled 
the colonies to act in concert. Sometimes the existence of a 
colony would be threatened by an Indian massacre, as was 
that of North Carolina in 1711 by the Tuscaroras, when South 
Carolina came to its assistance. Sometimes in the wars of 
Great Britain the enemies of that country laid waste our 
coasts and settlements. Sometimes the British government 
passed laws which oppressed and overtaxed the struggling colo- 
nists. These things and the trade relations between the colo- 
nies tended to bring the people of the various settlements into 
closer touch with one another and to pave the way for a more 
permanent alliance or union later. The several steps which 
led to this union are considered in the order in which they 
occurred. 

[33] 



34 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

32. New England Confederation. — As early as 1643 several 
of the small settlements in New England formed themselves 
into a confederation. Representatives were sent to a com- 
mon council, which framed an agreement providing in cases 
of invasion or attack that each settlement should be assisted 
by the strength of all. 

33. Albany Congress. — In 1754 delegates from several 
colonies met together at Albany, New York, to frame a plan 
of cooperation to secure protection against the French nation 
and its Indian allies, France and England, aided by their 
colonies, were then entering upon the gigantic struggle for 
the possession of North America. The particular plan offered 
by Franklin was not acceptable either to the British or to the 
Americans — it favored liberty and independence too much 
to suit the former, and too little to suit the latter. But the 
meeting had the effect of bringing about a better understand- 
ing and closer relations between the people of the different 
colonies. 

34. Stamp Act Congress. — In 1765 representatives from 
nine colonies met at New York and drew up a statement 
expressing the American view of the taxing power of the 
British government. This document declared that there 
should be "no taxation without representation;" this meant 
that the Americans should determine through their own repre- 
sentatives, or lawmaking powers, how much they should be 
taxed and on what articles the taxes should be levied and 
collected. This convention was called the Stamp Act Con- 
gress, and its action resulted in the repeal of the stamp tax. 

It was not long after this Congress adjourned that laws 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 35 

were passed by the British Parliament authorizing new forms 
of oppression and levying more obnoxious taxes, including 
the "tea tax." The colonists complained, petitioned, and 
protested, but without avail. Some of them pledged them- 
selves not to buy any goods upon which such taxes were lev- 
ied. To punish the colonists for these things, the British 
government passed laws forbidding public assemblies, and 
requiring private families to furnish food and shelter to Brit- 
ish troops. The colonies appointed Committees of Corres- 
pondence by means of which the information of each became 
common to all; thus they all became united in the purpose 
of preventing the British from taking away their rights and 
liberties. 

35. First Continental Congress. — All the colonies, except 
Georgia, sent delegates to represent them in a convention 
which met at Philadelphia, September 5, 1774-. This con- 
vention, as already stated, is known as the first Continental 
Congress. The delegates from North Carolina were William 
Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell. It drew up a 
statement of the rights of Americans under the British gov- 
ernment, of the wrongs they had suffered, and the remedies 
suggested; not the least of these remedies was that dele- 
gates from the colonies should meet again the next year. 

36. Second Continental Congress. — A second convention 
met May 10, 1775, and it is known as the second Continental 
Congress. This Congress took measures to continue the war 
that had already practically begun by the battle of Lexing- 
ton, which was fought on the 19th of April preceding. It 
provided for the formation of a continental army, elected 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



George Washington as commander-in-chief, provided for a 
postal service, authorized paper money, known as continental 
currency, and adopted the Declaration of Independence. 
It exercised such authority as was delegated to it by the colo- 
nial governments or such as it assumed by the consent or ac- 
quiescence of those governments. 

37. Declaration of Independence. — The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was adopted and proclaimed July 4 ; 1776. It was 
framed by a committee composed of Thomas Jefferson and 
others appointed by the Continental Congress. It is so nearly 
in the words penned by Jefferson that he is famed as its au- 
thor. 

The delegates from North Carolina who signed it were 
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn. 

The Declaration of Independence is a statement of Ameri- 
can rights and grievances — a platform or outline of American 
principles. Its concluding paragraph contains these words: 

"We, therefore, the representatives of the United States 
of America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these 
colonies solemnly publish and declare, that these united colo- 
nies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states 
* * * * an( j that, as free and independent states, they have full 
power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish 
commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independ- 
ent states may of right do." 

38. Articles of Confederation. — In 1777 the Continental 
Congress adopted a plan of national government called the 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 37 

Articles of Confederation. Under these articles, which 
formed the first federal constitution, the states were 
held together until after the Revolutionary War. This con- 
stitution, and the one framed in 1787 to take its place, will 
be considered in the next chapter. 

CONTROL OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 

39. Provincial Control. — The manner in which the provin- 
cial governments controlled their delegates to the Continental 
Congress is well illustrated by the instructions given to the 
North Carolina delegates by the Provincial Congress which 
met at Hillsborough in August, 1775. A plan of government 
proposed for the United Colonies, called a "Plan of General 
Confederation/ ' was being considered. After rejecting it as 
not suitable, or, in the language of that time, "not at present 
eligible/ ' the Provincial Congress expressed itself as also^of 
the opinion: 

"That the delegates for this province ought to be instructed 
not to consent to any plan of confederation which may be 
offered in an ensuing Continental Congress, until the same 
shall be laid before and approved by the Provincial Congress." 

At the time of this resolution the delegates from North 
Carolina had continued the same as in the first Continental 
Congress; but, on September 8, 1775, John Perm was appoint- 
ed in place of Richard Caswell. 

40. State Control. — The manner in which the delegates to 
the Continental Congress were controlled after the provinces 
became states is illustrated by an interesting example found 



38 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

in the proceedings of the North Carolina general assembly 
which met at New Bern in 1777. 

A constitution or plan of government for the United States, 
commonly called the " Articles of Confederation/' had been 
sent to the different states for the consideration of their legis- 
latures. The general assembly of North Carolina instructed 
its delegates in Congress to ratify at once certain sections 
which seemed to be necessary for carrying on the war. Other 
sections were also agreed to, one of which ought to be specially 
noted; 

"That each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and 
independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which 
is not by this Confederacy expressly delegated to the United 
States in Congress assembled." 

The legislature further resolved: 

c That the remaining clauses, articles, and sections thereof, 
containing matters highly important and interesting to the 
future people of this state and involving what may very 
materially affect the internal interests and sovereign inde- 
pendence thereof and not being immediately essential to the 
success of the present war, ought not to be ratified until there 
shall be full time and leisure for materially and deliberately 
considering the same, and until upon such mature and delib- 
erate consideration the same shall be approved.' ' 

It was desired that the people of the state might be fully 
informed as to the character of the proposed national govern- 
ment. Therefore the general assembly further resolved: 

"That the public printer be authorized to print the Articles 
of Confederation of the United States and that he be obliged 
to send twelve copies to each county." 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 39 

The general assembly which met at New Bern,in April, 1778, 
instructed "the delegates of the state in congress to ratify 
and confirm on behalf of this said state the Articles of Con- 
federation of the United States. " This ratification and con- 
firmation was executed or carried into effect, July 21, 1778, 
by delegates John Penn, John Williams, and Cornelius Har- 
nett, the same being witnessed by their signatures. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Name the thirteen colonies that seceded from Great Britain. 

2. What other acts of secession have occurred in the United States ? 

3. What brought on the Revolutionary War? 

4. What was the Stamp Act? 

5. What was the " tea tax?" 

6. When and where was the first "tea party" held? 

7. Tell what you know about the Mecklenburg Declaration. 

8. Write the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

9. Who was king of England when this declaration was adopted? 

10. Where is the original copy of the Declaration of Independence? 

11. How long were the Articles of Confederation the basis of our general gov- 

ernment? What war was carried on during a part of that time? 

12. What county in North Carolina is named after one of the signers of the 

Articles of Confederation? 



CHAPTER IV 
OUTLINE OF OUR STATE AND NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS 



THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR LAW 

41. Plan. — In the preceding pages some words and princi- 
ples which are constantly met with in the study of govern- 
ment have been explained and illustrated, and the history 
and growth of our laws to a period where their main principles 
took definite form in well-considered constitutions have in 
brief been indicated. We come now to consider specially 
the means by which the powers of government are expressed 
and defined. These powers have to be defined and well under- 
stood, so that the people may know when the government is 
being properly conducted and when it is acting or trying to 
act beyond, outside of, or contrary to its authority under the 
constitution. 

A knowledge of fundamental law, which is embodied in 
what is known as a constitution, is the key which unlocks the 
science of government. On this account much space is given 
to our state and national constitutions — how they were 
framed, the meaning of their terms and phrases, and the man- 
ner in which government is conducted under and in accord- 
ance with them. 

42. Meaning of 'Constitution.' — Literally the word 'con- 
stitution' signifies "a standing together." It is a set of prin- 
ciples by which a people are held together as a state or nation. 

[40] 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 41 

It implies union, harmony, endurance, strength. It is a per- 
manent compact, usually written, by which the people of a 
state or nation unite to conduct their government. A com- 
pact is an agreement whether of men or of states, freely entered 
into by those who have a right to make it. 

The government of the United States is the federal consti- 
tution in operation; the government of North Carolina is the 
state constitution in operation. 

43. The Federal Principle. — When the citizens of several 
independent states act together under one government, their 
union is called a federal union. The word 'federal' carries 
with it the idea of treaty or agreement. The government of 
the United States is called a federal government because of 
the treaty or agreement between the states which formed 
and adopted it. 

The term 'federal' is very popular with the great mass of 
liberty-loving Americans, because it preserves the idea that 
the United States government was made by an agreement 
between equal states and is continued by their consent. It 
is a noteworthy fact that in the War between the States the 
northern people called their government 'federal/ while the 
people of the South called theirs 'confederate.' The same 
fundamental idea is in both words, and both sections of the 
nation clung to that idea in the dire extremity of war. The 
Revolutionary War, also, was fought to a successful finish 
under a constitution which its framers affectionately termed 
The Articles of Confederation. This teaches us that the 
real strength and enduring qualities of our Union lie in the 
fact that the great body of the people believe it to be one of 
agreement and not of force; for that reason they give it the 



42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



voluntary support of freemen, not the enforced obedience of 
slaves. 

Whether a compact be between states, as embodied in the 
constitution of the United States, or between individuals, as 
embodied in the constitution of Nor.th Carolina, states cannot 
be preferred above states nor individuals above individuals in 
the operation of law without violating the main principle of 
all just government. Favoritism, as it destroys harmony 
in families, would likewise destroy the unity of these states — 
our great " family of nations." 

44. Organic Law. — A constitution is called 'organic law' 
because under or by means of it the people organize so that 
they can act together permanently. It is called the funda- 
mental law because upon it rest or out of it grow the laws 
enacted or passed by legislatures and the decisions and opin- 
ions rendered by courts. In North Carolina, for example, 
the legislature, or general assembly, as it is called in the consti- 
tution of the state, meets every Hwo years at 2 Raleigh and 
enacts laws. These laws may be amended, or changed, by 
succeeding legislatures. Our state constitution, however, 
cannot be changed by the general assembly nor by the deci- 
sions and opinions of the courts. The people made it and 
they alone can alter or abolish it. Courts and legislatures 
must act in accordance with its provisions. 

The same is also true of the constitution of the United 
States. Neither Congress nor the courts can change it. As 
the people of the several states made it, they alone can alter 
or amend it. The way in which the people of North Carolina 
may amend their constitution is provided in the instrument 
itself, and the way in which the people of the United States 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 43 

can amend the federal constitution is likewise provided in 
that document. Speaking generally, therefore, a constitu- 
tion in the United States, whether state or federal, may be 
said to be a body of laws so fixed and established by the 
people as not to be subject to repeal or amendment by the 
ordinary lawmaking powers. In other words no legislature 
can change the constitution of its state, nor can Congress 
change the constitution of the United States. 

45. The Courts and the Laws. — The courts do not make 
laws. They direct and control, for the most part, the admin- 
istration of law, its execution or operation upon particular 
cases. For instance, when a man commits a crime, a court 
presides over and directs his trial, determines what laws are 
applicable to his case, and prescribes the punishment - if he 
is found guilty. 

The courts also determine the meaning of the laws, — that 
is to say, they decide what the constitution or what an act of 
the legislature means as applied to any particular case which 
is being tried before them. A court is not ordinarily bound 
to decide the meaning of any law unless its decision is neces- 
sary in order to determine some one's right or duty under the 
law. 

The courts also decide when the laws made by the legisla- 
ture are in conflict with the constitution. In such case of 
conflict the constitution overrides or is superior to the acts of 
the legislature. 

The decision of the highest or supreme court is ordinarily 
reached when it has to hear a case that has already been tried 
by lower courts; or, in other words, when an appeal to it from 
lower courts has been taken. A case is said to be finally 



44 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

determined when neither side takes an appeal, or when upon 
appeal the highest court has given its final decision. 

46. Failure of Provincial Government. — While North Caro- 
lina was a British Province — or at least from the time of the 
proprietary government to the time of the Revolutionary 
War — its organic law was the will of the British king and 
Parliament. The province had, indeed, before that war a 
sort of legislature; but its acts were subject to be changed 
or nullified by the British government. The province was 
three thousand miles from England, and the people were 
scattered through vast forests all the way from the sea to the 
region beyond the mountains. For these reasons the British 
government could not know their needs and best interests. 
The result was that a difference of opinion arose between 
these forest dwellers, our forefathers, and their rulers across 
the sea. 

This difference widened as the Carolinians were more and 
more obliged to rely upon themselves for things they needed 
and for protection against the savages. It was sharply 
accented when at Wilmington, in 1765, the people rebelled 
against the stamp tax, which they had no hand in assessing. 
It resulted in bloodshed when some inland farmers resisted 
Tryon at Alamance. It finally brought on the Revolution, 
when the thirteen colonies decided that the "Mother Country' ' 
was using the taxing power unjustly. 

Civil war usually grows out of the struggle for the control 
of the power to "lay and collect' ' and to disburse taxes. "The 
love of money is the root of all evil." The power which con- 
trols the purse of nations ordinarily controls their swords. 
Profiting by experience, therefore, in later years the framers 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 45 

of the existing federal constitution gave to Congress, the 
legislative branch of the United States government, the power 
to ia lay and collect taxes." 

In colonial times this right was claimed by the people of the 
provinces through legislatures elected by them, but in its en- 
forcement they were hindered because the powers of govern- 
ment were divided and because the king and Parliament 
claimed the right to nullify their laws and to make new ones. 
Only members of the assembly branch, or lower house, of the 
provincial legislature w T ere elected by the people. The gover- 
nor, his council, and the general officers of the colony were ap- 
pointed by the British authority mainly to take care of Brit- 
ish interests. The result was that the people demanded a 
government which represented them in all its departments. 

47. Our First State Constitution. — In 1776 the people of 
North Carolina, through their representatives, or delegates, 
assembled at Halifax, "ordained and established" a constitu- 
tion. This constitution, with the amendments since added 
and changes made, is that under which our state government 
is operated at this time. The title of their work is : 

"The constitution or form of government agreed to and 
resolved upon by the representatives of the freemen of the 
state of North Carolina elected and chosen for that particular 
purpose in Congress assembled at Halifax the eighteenth day 
of December in the year of our Lord on© thousand seven hun- 
dred and seventy-six." 

The word 'Congress' is now used to designate the national 
legislature; 'convention' and 'constitutional convention' are 
the terms now applied to an assembly elected and met to- 
gether to make or amend the organic law. 



46 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

48. The People the Source of Power. — In their ' declaration 
of rights', the framers of this constitution took care to lay 
down as their first principle: "That all political power is ves- 
ted in and derived from the people only." If England had 
admitted this proposition, there would have been no Revo- 
lutionary War. 

Again, in 1868, when the constitution was remodeled, the 
same idea is preserved in its very first article: *" All political 
power is vested in and derived from the people; all govern- 
ment, of right, originates from them, is founded upon their 
will only, and is established for the good of the whole." 

Of similar import is another section in the same article: 
2 "The people of the state have the sole inherent and exclu- 
sive right * * * of abolishing their constitution 
and form of government whenever it shall be necessary for 
their safety and happiness." An inherent right in the people 
is one which naturally belongs to them;, it is the gift of God 
and is not acquired from others. 

49. First Federal Constitution. — The first constitution of 
the United States is commonly called the Articles of Con- 
federation. It was adopted by the Continental Congress at 
Philadelphia, November 17, 1777. It was ratified or accepted, 
by the states acting separately one after another through their 
respective delegates in Congress, who were given the power 
to do so by their state legislatures. In 1781 it was finally 
accepted by the last, — the state of Maryland. 

After being ratified by a state, the constitution appears to 
have been binding on that state and to have been recognized 
as a part of the laws governing its people in their federal rela- 
tions. Before it was accepted by the states, the delegates in 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 47 

Congress exercised such power as was given them by their 
respective states or such as the Congress undertook or assumed 
to exercise with the authority, consent, or acquiescence of the 
states. The general government had but little well-defined 
authority. Even after the adoption of the Articles of Con- 
federation, it depended mainly for success upon the common 
consent and the common interests of the people, and upon the 
necessity of united action which had been caused by British 
oppression. 

50. Defects in the Articles of Confederation. — The Articles 
of Confederation was the constitution under which the states 
finally organized the general government which drove the 
British from our shores. This constitution was not consid- 
ered binding enough to hold the states together after the 
pressure of war was removed. 

It placed all the powers of government in the hands of the 
legislative branch or department. It contained no provision 
for the offices of president and vice-president of the United 
States, nor for the appointment of a supreme court. In it 
no power was delegated to the United States to enforce the 
collection of taxes. That power was kept by the states 
because they were afraid that if they gave it to the United 
States government they w T ould thereby make that govern- 
ment so strong that it could crush each of them in detail. 
During the continuance of the war, the danger of defeat oper- 
ated to keep the states united and to make each of them con- 
tribute toward maintaining the continental army. But after 
the British had retreated from our shores and peace was pro- 
claimed, the states kept the money of their people to support 
their own governments. Thus, the government organized 



48 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

under the Articles of Confederation began to fail for lack of 
support. 

This critical situation led to the formation of the second 
or existing constitution of the United States. Under it was 
established our present general government. This govern- 
ment is still operated under the powers which that constitu- 
tion, with the amendments since added, confers, 

THE TWO EEDEEAL CONSTITUTIONS COMPAEED 

51. Convention of 1787. — In 1787 a convention of dele- 
gates chosen by the different states met at Philadelphia and 
elected George Washington to preside over their deliberations. 
The delegates from North Carolina were Alexander Martin, 
William E. Davie, Eichard Dobbs Spaight, William Blount, 
and Hugh Williamson. The constitution which was framed 
by this convention differed from the Articles of Confedera- 
tion in many particulars. 

Among other differences it provided for : 1 the election of a 
president and vice-president of the United States ; 2 two houses 
of Congress instead of one, a senate and a house of representa- 
tives ; 3 a supreme court ; 4 taxing the people of the Union for 
the support of the general government instead of relying upon 
the state governments to collect such taxes. 

All taxes now levied by the national government are duties 
(a tax on articles imported from foreign countries) and inter- 
nal revenue (a tax on certain articles produced in this country, 
such as tobacco and spirituous liquors), and incomes. Under 
the existing constitution these federal taxes were and are 
still collected by federal officers. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 49 

Under the Articles of Confederation the general govern- 
ment was supported by the state governments and had little 
to do with individuals except through those governments. 
Under the constitution of 1787, however, the national gov- 
ernment exercised and still exercises its authority, through 
its own officers; it deals directly with or operates upon the 
individual citizens of the states. 

52. Adoption of the Existing Federal Constitution. — The 

constitution of 1787, after being signed by the members of 
the convention which framed it, was sent to the states for 
their approval ; it was to go into effect as soon as 1 nine states 
should ratify or adopt it. Eleven states adopted it in less than 
a year after it had been framed. Under the provisions which 
it contained, these states elected George Washington as their 
president. He was the first president of the United States 
and was inaugurated at ]STew York city, April 30, 1789. 

By a convention which met at Hillsborough, July 21, 1788, 
North Carolina failed to adopt the federal constitution. After 
assurances had been given, however, that certain amend- 
ments limiting the power of the general government and 
protecting the liberties of the citizens and the rights of the 
states would be added, North Carolina withdrew all oppo- 
sition and ratified it. This was done, Nov. 21, 1789, by a 
convention, which met at Favetteville. Our state was the 
last, save Rhode Island, to adopt this constitution, 
but it was among the first to ratify the ten amendments. 
These were added mainly to express with greater certainty 
the principles for which the Revolutionary War had been 
fought 



50 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

53. The Supreme Law of the Land. — In framing or amend- 
ing a state constitution, care has to be taken that no part of 
it shall conflict with the constitution of the United States, 
u consistently' with which all powers of state government 
must be exercised. The constitution of the United States 
contains these words* 

2 "This constitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made 
or which shall be made under the authority of the United 
States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges 
in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the consti- 
tution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. ,, 

The ' treaties' referred to are the agreements with foreign 
nations made by the president of the United States "by and 
with the advice and consent" of that branch of Congress 
known as the senate. 

Another clause of the same article requires that the princi- 
pal officers, state and national, *" shall be bound by an oath 
or affirmation to support this constitution." In accordance 
with this provision, our state legislature has enacted the 
following law: 

4 "A11 members of the general assembly and all officers 
who shall be elected or appointed to any office or place of 
trust or profit within the state shall agreeable to act of 
Congress take the following oath or affirmation: 'I, A. B., 
do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that I will 
support the constitution of the United States; so help me, 
God." 

Those who object to using the words "I swear" are allowed 
to substitute the words "I affirm." 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 51 

Our state constitution has also recognized, in the following 
words, the principle that the federal government is supreme : 

la That every citizen of this state owes paramount allegi- 
ance to the constitution and government of the United 
States and that no law or ordinance of the state in contraven- 
tion or subversion thereof can have any binding force." 

'Paramount allegiance' is illustrated when the constitution 
or laws or acts of a state government come in conflict w T ith 
the constitution and lawful authority of the United States. 
In such a case the state laws and authority must yield. But 
it is well to note here that federal authority has no right to 
interfere with what properly belongs to state government. 

54. Reserved Powers. — The constitution of the United 
States contains the following guaranty, which is considered 
more at length in subsequent chapters: 

2 "The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to 
the states respectively or to the people." 

The government of the United States, though supreme when 
it may lawfully exercise its powers, is one of limited author- 
ity, — that is, it possesses only the powers which are delegated 
or committed to it by the people of the states. On the 
other hand, the people of each state, each acting for itself 
separately, have all the authority which is not prohibited 
to them by the national constitution. 

STATE and FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS COMPARED 

55. Brief View. — A brief view of the state and national 
constitutions, considered together, will further serve to 
illustrate the general plan and purposes of each. Both pro- 



52 VIVIL GOVERNMENT 

vide for three departments of government: legislative, exe- 
cutive, and judicial. The first makes, the second executes, 
the third construes the laws ; the first holds the purse, the 
second the sword, the third the scales of justice. Each of 
these departments or branches of government must be kept 
separate from the other, for each of them derives its power 
from the people. In North Carolina, this power is derived 
from the people of the state ; in the Union, it is derived from 
the people of all the states. The legislative branch, however, 
has the power to impeach and remove officers of the other 
two branches (§91, §207). 

56. Legislature and Congress. — In both state and national 
constitutions the legislative department is divided into two 
branches, a senate and a house of representatives. In the 
general assembly of the state there are fifty senators and one 
hundred and twenty representatives. In the Congress of 
the United States there are two senators for each state. 
The number of representatives which each state is entitled 
to elect is in proportion to its population (§199). North 
Carolina elects ten. 

The members of the general assembly are elected by the 
people of the state. Members cf the house of representatitives 
in Congress are elected by the people of the several states. 
Each state is divided into congressional districts and each 
district is entitled to one representative. 

Senators in Congress are elected by the people of the 
several states. The term of each Senator is six years ; that 
of a Representative, two. The 3 members of both branches 
of the North Carolina legislature hold their offices for a term 
of two years. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 53 

The Vice-president presides over the senate of the United 
States; the lieutenant governor, over that of North Caro- 
lina. The 3 house of representatives in Congress and in the 
general assembly elects each its own presiding officer, and in 
both he is called the speaker. The senate in the general assem- 
bly and in Congress elects its presiding officer if the lieutenant 
governor in the one and the vice-president in the other can- 
not act. The presiding officer in each is called the president 
of the senate. 

57. The Governor and the President. — Like the governor, 
the president holds his office for four years, md may suc- 
ceed himself in office when his term expires. Tftie governor, 
however, 6 cannot be elected twice in succession. If the 
governor dies or is removed from office, of if for any other cause 
his office becomes vacant, he is succeeded by the lieutenant 
governor; the president under similar circumstances is Suc- 
ceeded by the vice-president. Both have the power to pardon 
criminals. The president has, but the governor has not, 
the veto power; in the exercise of this power the president 
may prevent a bill from becoming a law. 

No person under thirty years of age can be governor or 
lieutenant governor; no person is eligible for president or 
vice-president who has not attained the age of thirty-five 
years. 

The governor is elected by the voters of the state; the 
president, by electors chosen by the voters of each state. 

58, Other Federal Officers. — The "justices of the federal 
supreme court and the other United States judges are 
appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the 
senate. So likewise are the members of the president's 



54 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

cabinet and the other principal officers of the general gov- 
ernment. But 2 Congress may have the inferior officers of 
the federal government appointed in a different way. 

The judges hold their 3 offices for life or during good be- 
havior. They can only be removed by impeachment — that 
is, they must be tried and found guilty by the United States 
senate upon charges or articles of impeachment, as they are 
called, preferred or presented by the house of representa- 
tives (§207). The other appointed officers of the United 
States hold their offices during the pleasure of the president 
except when it is otherwise provided by law. The president 
and vice-president, and all other 4 civil officers of the general 
government, are subject like the judges to removal by im- 
peachment and for the same causes. The president has 
the power to remove all officers appointed by him except 
United States judges. 

59. Other State Officers. — Under the government of North 
Carolina the 5 judges are elected by the people. They hold 
their offices for a term of e eight years. The legislature can 
remove them by impeachment for 7 misbehavior in office or 
by Concurrent resolution for mental or physical inability to 
discharge their duties. A concurrent resolution is one in 
which both houses concur or agree. 

The 9 governor and 10 other state officers and all officers hold- 
ing their offices under the constitution and laws of North 
Carolina are in like manner removable by impeachment (§91). 
But the judgment of the impeachment court does not extend 
beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold office. 

Where the office is not provided for in the state consti- 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 55 

tution but is merely created by statute, the general assembly 
may provide means of removal other than by impeachment 
or by concurrent resolution of both its branches (§92). 

60. Vacancies in Office. — Both the governor and the presi- 
dent have power, the one by the state and the other by the 
federal constitution, to fill vacancies occurring in the prin- 
cipal offices of the executive and judicial departments of 
government — the governor for the state, the president for 
the United States. A vacancy occurs when an officer dies, 
resigns, or is removed from office. 

When a vacancy occurs in a legislative office, state or 
national, the person who fills it must be elected or chosen 
in the same manner as the officer whom he succeeds, except 
in the case of United States senator. When this office becomes 
vacant, the 4 governor may be allowed by the legislature, 
which, formerly had the power to elect senators, to make a 
temporary appointment until the vacancy can be regularly 
filled by election by the people of the state. 

61. Limited Powers. — The government of the United 
States is 5 limited to the powers conferred on it by the states. 
Within these limits it is 6 supreme ; if any provision in a state 
constitution should be contrary to the constitution of the 
United States, the latter would 7 control. The main objects for 
forming the general government were: (1) to 8 unite the states 
so they could act as one in matters of common concern, espe- 
cially in dealing with 9 foreign countries; (2) to regulate the 
relations between the 10 states and settle their differences; 
(3) to pass laws governing the trade "between the citizens of 
different states. This trade is known as interstate commerce. 



56 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



AMENDMENTS TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION 

62. Methods of Amendment — As the people of North 
Carolina made their constitution, they alone can amend it. 
The constitution itself provides methods of amendment. 

The general assembly, by a three-fifths vote of the mem- 
bers of both houses, may order that a proposed amendment be 
submitted to a vote of the people at the next general election. 
The amendment is carried if a majority of the votes cast are 
in favor of its adoption. 

Another method of changing the constitution is by a Con- 
vention of the people. Such a convention is composed of a 
body of men elected by the voters of the state for that spe- 
cial purpose. It must be called — that is, proposed and or- 
dered — by two-thirds of the members of each house of the 
general assembly. Even then it is not allowed to assemble 
unless 2 "a majority of the votes cast in a general election 
be in favor of said convention." Once assembled, however, 
according to law, such a convention holds and exercises the 
full power of the people, and it may amend the constitution 
of the state, or abolish it and make a new one. 

The f ramers of our constitution intended that it should not 
be too easily amended. The organic law in the state should 
not be changed or broken up by the mere passing whim of a 
popular majority. The will of the people is the highest power 
in the state, but it should be fairly and fully ascertained, 
and expressed in due form. There is hardly a principle in our 
fundamental law that it did not take the blood of heroes to 
establish and maintain. Let us therefore cherish the institu- 
tions of our fathers. 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 57 

63. Constitutional Changes in i7?6. — The first constitu- 
tional convention of North Carolina, better known as the 
Halifax Congress, expressed the will of the people as opposed 
to certain European ideas of government. Instead of hav- 
ing the governor and principal officers appointed by the king 
of England, as in colonial times, it was provided that they 
should be chosen by legislatures elected by the people. In- 
stead of being taxed by the British Parliament, the people, 
through their representatives, declared that in future they 
alone would tax themselves. Instead of having to pay a tax 
to maintain a particular form of worship previously estab- 
lished by law, that tax was repealed. Since that time no 
person has been compelled by the government to make any 
contribution whatever to support any church or religious 
establishment. 

64. Amendments of 1835. — In 1835 a constitutional con- 
vention met at Raleigh, where all such conventions have 
since been held. It amended the constitution made at Hali- 
fax. Among other things, it provided that the governor 
should no longer be chosen by the legislature, but should be 
Elected directly by the people. His term of office, as well as 
the terms of the other officers of the executive department, 
was changed from one to two years; the legislature was re- 
quired to be elected every 2 two years instead of every year, 
as under our first constitution. 

The constitution of 1776 provided that no person should 
be allowed to hold office who denied the truth of the Protes- 
tant religion; the new constitution changed the word "Prot- 
estant" to "Christian." 

Under the first constitution each county had equal repre- 



58 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

sentation in the senate and the house of commons; the con- 
stitution of 1835 fixed the number of senators at fifty, and 
provided that these should be chosen by districts. These 
districts were laid out, not according to population nor accord- 
ing to the size of the district, but according to the amount of 
taxes paid into the treasury of the state. The number of 
members of the house of commons was fixed at one hundred 
and twenty; the representation was according to population, 
except that each county, however small, was entitled to one 
representative. 

Another important change in the constitution of 1835 was 
that 'borough' or town representation was abolished; as 
a consequence, the towns of Edenton, New Bern, Wilmington, 
Salisbury, Hillsboro, and Halifax lost their representatives 
in the general assembly. They had each been previously 
entitled to one representative in the house of commons. 

65. Amendment of 1857. — Up to 1857 only those who 
owned fifty acres of land could vote for a member of the senate. 
In that year this provision was abolished. 

66. The Constitution of 1868. — In 1868 was held the con- 
vention which remodeled the constitution. In order to adapt 
it to the changes which had been brought about by the War 
between the States, many new features were introduced. It 
declared that the state should have no right to *secede from 
the Union. It increased the governor's 2 term of office to 
four years, and it also increased the terms of the other Officers 
of the executive department; namely, the lieutenant gover- 
nor, the secretary of state, the auditor, the treasurer, the 
superintendent of public instruction, and the attorney-gen- 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 59 

eral. These last were now to be elected, like the governor, 
by the people at the regular election held every four years. 
The judges of the 2 supreme and superior courts, who had 
hitherto been appointed by the legislature, were now required 
to be elected by the people. Their terms were fixed at 3 eight 
years; formerly they had held office for life or during good 
behavior. 

The constitution of 1868, with some changes and amend- 
ments made since its adoption, is the organic law of North 
Carolina at this time. 

67. Amendments of 1875. — In 1875 was held the last consti- 
tutional convention which has assembled in our state. Among 
the amendments adopted by this convention was one which 
provided that the compensation of 4 members of the legisla- 
ture should not exceed four dollars a day for sixty days and 
mileage of ten cents for every mile traveled in going to and 
returning from the place of meeting of the legislature; if the 
session extended beyond the sixty days, such additional ser- 
vice should be without pay. Before that amendment the 
legislature might hold its sessions as long as it chose and vote 
its members such compensation as it saw fit. It can still 
hold its Sessions as long as it pleases, but its members can 
only receive pay for the regular sixty-day session and for 
twenty Mays more in case a special session is called (§80). 

A very important and far-reaching change made by the 
convention of 1875 was to empower the legislature 7 to put 
an end to township government in North Carolina. In the 
exercise of this power the legislature abolished the office and 
took away the authority of the township trustees, who had 
hitherto regulated the local affairs of each community. As 



CO 



CIVIL GOVERXMEXT 



a result, the township is now continued only as a mere divi- 
sion of the county without an organized government, though 
the legislature has the power to re-establish township govern- 
ments at any time. 

68. Amendment of 1888. — In 1888 an amendment in- 
creased the number of justices of the supreme court from 
three to five. 

69. Amendment of 1900. — A Suffrage amendment was 
proposed by the general assembly in 1899 and ratified by 
the people in 1900. It requires (1) that a person must pay 
his poll tax before he is allowed to vote, and (2) and must 
know how to read and write, in English, any section of the 
state constitution. The second provision, however, does not 
bar from voting those who exercised the privilege before 
January 1, 1867, and their descendants. It is presumed 
that such persons will have learned their civic duties by actual 
experience and by instruction. 

69a. Amendments of 19 17. — An amendment proposed by 
the assembly in 1915 and ratified by the people in 1916 for- 
bids the general assembly from passing any local, private or 
special act relating to the establishment of courts ; the appoint- 
ment of justices of the peace; the regulation of sanitation; 
the changing the names of towns ; the regulation of streets, 
ferries, bridges, cemeteries and the pay of jurors ; the erection 
of new^ townships ; the remission of fines ; the extension of the 
time of tax collection ; and the giving effect to informal wills 
and deeds. General laws concerning any of these matters 
may be passed. Another amendment authorizes the general 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT Gl 

assembly to provide for the selection of special judges to hold 
superior courts in cases where the regular judges are unable 
to attend. Other amendments forbid the passing of special 
acts concerning corporations other than corporations under 
the patronage of the state, and require the passing of general 
laws for the organization and government of cities and towns. 

AMENDMENTS to the NATIONAL CONSTITUTION 

70. Methods of Amendment. — The 2 people of the several 
states, %vho made the national constitution, alone have power 
to 3 alter it. The constitution itself 4 provides that when an 
amendment proposed by Congress is agreed to by two-thirds 
of both houses thereof, it is submitted to each state. It 
becomes a part of the constitution after it has been ratified 
or adopted, by three-fourths of the states. It is ratified by 
a state either through its legislature or through a convention 
of its people, as may be determined by Congress. 

The constitution further provides that a Convention of the 
people of the United States shall likewise have power to pro- 
pose amendments ; but such a convention can only be called 
together by Congress upon the application of the legislature 
of two-thirds of the states. Amendments proposed by a con- 
vention are adopted in the same manner and by the same 
proportion of states as amendments proposed by Congress. 

71. The First Ten Amendments. — In 1TS9 Congress pro- 
posed the first ten amendments. North Carolina and two 
other states adopted them in that year, and by December 15, 
1791, ten states, the required three-fourths, had ratified them. 
The main purpose of these amendments was further to restrict 



62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the powers of the general government and to protect the rights 
of the states and the liberties of the citizens. Except for the 
understanding that they would be adopted, the constitution 
itself would not have been ratified by nine states, the number 
required to put it into effect. 

72. The Eleventh Amendment. — "At the time the constitu- 
tion was adopted, it was as well understood that a state could 
not be sued by the citizens of another state or country as that 
it could not be sued by its own citizens ; so it was not thought 
necessary to express this principle in words. 

In the year 1792, however, the supreme court of the United 
States surprised the people by deciding that a citizen of South 
Carolina could sue in a federal court the sovereign state of 
Georgia. As a result of this decision, Congress, in 1794, pro- 
posed the eleventh amendment, which was ratified in 1798. 
It declares that a state cannot be sued by a citizen of another 
state or by a subject of a foreign country. States, however, 
may sue each other, for they are of equal dignity. 

73. The Twelfth Amendment. — The twelfth amendment, 
adopted in 1804, provides that the presidential electors shall 
vote both for a president and a vice-president. Before this 
time they voted only for president, and the person who re- 
ceived the next highest number of votes became vice-president. 

74. Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. — 
The next three amendments to the federal constitution were 
adopted as a result of the War between the States. 

The thirteenth abolished slavery and involuntary servitude 
except as a punishment for crime. The fourteenth amend- 
ment made "all persons born or naturalized in the United 



FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT 63 

States" citizens of the United States, and secures for all 
citizens equal legal privileges. The fifteenth declares that 
the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged 
"on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." 
74a. Sixteenth and Seventeeth Amendments. — Both of 
these amendments were adopted in 1913. The sixteenth 
empowers Congress to tax incomes without apportionment 
among the states according to population. The seventeenth 
provides for the election of United States senators by the 
people, instead of by the legislatures of the states, as 
formerly. 

75. Amendment by Custom In one particular the people 

may be said to have changed the purpose and the effect of 
the constitution without following the method of amend- 
ment as prescribed therein. They vote, indeed, for electors 
to choose the president and vice-president ; but in practice and 
according to a well-established custom, these electors make 
no choice of their own will. They cast their ballots for the 
nominees of . their respective parties. 

76. Amendment by Construction. — The courts, too, whose 
duty it is to construe, or tell the meaning of the laws, are 
sometimes accused of finding meanings which have the same 
effect as amendments. The people, however, may correct any 
errors of the courts by adopting amendments in the manner 
prescribed by law; they have also the power of electing the 
men of their choice as judges under the state government 
and of electing a chief executive of the United States who 
will appoint the best and wisest men as federal judges. More- 
over, they may change their constitution so that such officers 
may be elected by the people. 



64 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

77. First Principles of Free Government The end and 

purpose of free or popular government is nowhere better 
stated than in that great charter of our rights and liberties 
called the Declaration of Independence. It is not law, but 
its sentiments are in such full accord with the instincts of 
freemen, that its words and phrases are made the foundation 
of laws and constitutions in all free countries. Its funda- 
mental principle is set forth in these words : 

"That all men are created equal; that they are endowed 
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among 
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to 
secure these rights governments are established among men; 
that whenever a form of government becomes destructive of 
these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, 
and to institute new government, laying its foundations on 
such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to 
them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and 
happiness." 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. When are laws passed by congress unconstitutional ? When are those 

passed by the general assembly unconstitutional? 

2. What great document signed by King John in 1215 forms the basis 

of the fundamental laws of Great Britain ? 

3. Who granted! the authority under which the colonies were governed 

before the revolution ? 

4. What were the documents that conferred this authority called? 

5. Through whom were our constitutions framed, and what was the 

source of their authority! 

6. How does a constitution differ from a charter in regard to the source 

of authority? 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 



CHAPTER V 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF NORTH CAROLINA 



ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE 

78. Departments Separate. — The constitution requires the 
three great departments of government to be kept Separate 
and distinct,— that is, each must be allowed to act in its own 
sphere, free from the control or interference of the others. 
The courts indeed are allowed to say in deciding a case that 
an act of the legislature is unconstitutional, but this is because 
it is made their duty to interpret the meaning of the laws. 
If officers go beyond their duty, or encroach upon the authority 
or integrity of the other departments, or attempt to usurp 
powers not granted, or act corruptly, they are subject to 
impeachment by the legislature (§91). But to prevent 
hasty or tyrannous action, one house must bring the 3 charges ; — 
that is, draw up and present the articles of impeachment — and 
the other house must 4 decide upon their propriety and truth; 
and two-thirds of its members must vote "guilty" before 
there can be conviction. 

79. Time of Meeting. — ^he constitution requires that 
the senate and house of representatives shall meet biennially 
on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January 
next after their election; and, when assembled, shall be called 
the general assembly. Neither house shall proceed upon 
public business unless a majority of all its members are act- 
ually present. 

[67] 



68 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

80. Extra Session. — "'The governor shall have power on 
extraordinary occasions, by and with the advice of the council 
of state [§109], to convene the general assembly in extra 
session by his proclamation, stating therein the purpose or 
purposes for which they are thus convened." 

81. Qualifications and Compensation of Members. — The 

Qualifications of members for each house are similar but not 
identical. A senator must be twenty-five years of age; 
while a representative need only be twenty-one. A sena- 
tor must have been a citizen of the state two years and a resi- 
dent of his district one year next preceding his election; while 
a representative, in addition to being a qualified voter, must 
have resided in his county for one year immediately preced- 
ing his election. 3 The qualifications of a voter are considered 
elsewhere (§69), though it may be here remarked that a 
person qualified to vote for a senator can also vote for a repre- 
sentative. 

For compensation of members of the general assembly 
see §67. 

82. Houses Distinct. — The two houses are distinct, — that 
is, they sit as separate bodies and in separate chambers. 
Each house elects its own officers, and acts independently 
in the passage of bills and resolutions. The purpose of this 
is to prevent hasty, ill-considered, and covert legislation. The 
eyes of the people are upon their lawmakers, and what each 
house does is usually published before it is acted on by the other. 

83. Proceedings Public. — Publicity is a great guarantee 
of fidelity and efficiency. For this reason the constitution 
says the courts shall be 4 open,so that the people may look in 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 69 

upon their proceedings. In ancient times courts were held 
at the gates of the city where every one must pass, and the 
legislature is required to meet in Raleigh, the capital of the 
state, where its actions cannot be hid. 

There are a few matters, which for reasons of public policy 
are considered in secret session ; as, for example, when the 
senate passes upon the nominations of the governor, it closes 
its doors and goes into what is called executive session. 
This is done in order that it may the more freely discuss the 
characters and qualifications of those nominated by him for 
important offices and places of trust. 

84. Joint Session. — There are several exceptions to the 
requirement that the two houses sit separately. When the 
elections returns for the officers of the executive department 
are opened in January following the election, they are opened 
and published in the presence of the two houses sitting to- 
gether. This regulation is probably intended to secure abso- 
lute certainty of the genuineness and validity of the election 
returns. The two houses also sit together in cases of contested 
elections, and it is their duty, thus sitting together, to settle 
contests and to elect officers in case of a tie vote. 

85. Apportionment of Senators. — To determine how the 
senators and representatives in the general assembly are ap- 
portioned is a mere matter of calculation under the rule laid 
down in the constitution. The 2 census, taken every ten years 
under direction of Congress, determines the population of the 
state and of the several counties as well. After each census 



70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the state is ^districted, — that is, laid off anew into senatorial 
districts. Each of the fifty senators represents as nearly as 
may be one-fiftieth of the population, excluding aliens and In- 
dians not taxed. This fiftieth is called the ratio of apportion- 
ment, or ratio of representation, and is now about thirty-six 
thousand, which is approximately the number of inhabitants 
each senator should represent. But, inasmuch as a county 
cannot be Mivided for the purpose of forming districts unless 
it has population enough for two senators, several districts 
have a population considerably larger than the ratio of appor- 
tionment. As yet, however, no county in- the state has 
population enough for two senators. 

86. Apportionment of Representatives. — The house is com- 
posed of one hundred and twenty members. Each county is 
entitled to one representative, no matter how small its popu- 
lation. As there are one hundred counties, this provides for 
one hundred members. The remaining twenty members are 
apportioned among the larger counties according to the popu- 
lation as nearly as may be. 

87. Constitutional Regulations. — (a) Method of Voting. — 
8 "In the election of all officers, whose appointment shall be 
conferred upon the general assembly by the constitution, the 
vote shall be viva voce. 17 Viva voce means "with the living 
voice' ' — by roll call. 

(&) Vacancies. — 4 "If vacancies shall occur in the general 
assembly by death, resignation, or otherwise, writs of election 
shall be issued by the governor under such regulations as may 
be prescribed by law." A writ of election is a written order 
issued by the governor requiring that an election be held. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 71 

(c) Record of Proceedings. — "'Each house shall keep 
a journal [or record] of its proceedings, which shall be printed 
and made public immediately after the adjournment of the 
general assembly." 

(d) Protest. — 2 "Any member of either house may dissent 
from, and protest against, any act or resolve, which he may 
think injurious to the public or to any individual, and have 
the reasons of his dissent entered on the journal." 

(e) Separate and Joint Action. — 3 "Each house shall be 
the judge of the qualifications and election of its own members, 
shall sit upon its own adjournment from day to day, prepare 
bills to be passed into laws; and the two houses may also 
jointly adjourn to any future day, or other place." 

(/) How Bills BecOxAie Laws. — 4 "A11 bills and resolutions 
of a legislative nature shall be read three times in each house, 
before they pass into laws; and shall be signed by the presid- 
ing officer of both houses." 

(g) Oath of Office. — 5 "Each member of the general 
assembly, before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirma- 
tion that he will support the constitution and laws of the 
United States, and the constitution of the state of North Caro- 
lina, and will faithfully discharge his duty as a member of the 
senate or house of representatives." 

(h) Yeas and Nays. — 6 "Upon motion made and seconded 
in either house, by one-fifth of the members present, the yeas 
and nays upon any question shall be taken and entered upon 
the journals." 

" Yeas and nays" is the phrase applied to a list of members 
of a legislative body voting respectively for and against a 
question. 



72 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



88. Presiding Officers. — The officer who ordinarily presides 
over the senate is the Hieutenant governor of the state, who 
is ex officio, — that is, by virtue of his office, president of the 
senate. In his absence or when he shall exercise the duties 
of governor, the 3 senate chooses its president from among its 
members. Each 4 house elects its own officers. The presiding 
officer of the house of representatives is called the 5 speaker, 
who is the official spokesman or mouth-piece of the body. 
He is chosen from among the members of the house. An 
idea of his duties may be gained from the following rules of 
the house of representatives (session 1907) relating to the 
duties of the speaker. 

89. Duties of the Speaker. — "It shall be the duty of the 
speaker to have the sessions of this house opened with prayer 
in accordance with the order of this body. 

"He shall take the chair every day precisely at the hour to 
which the house on the preceding day adjourned, shall imme- 
diately call the members to order and on the appearance of a 
quorum cause the journal of the preceding day to be read." 

As used in the preceding paragraph, "a quorum' ' means 
a majority of the house. 

"He shall preserve order and decorum, may speak to points 
of order in preference to other members, rising from his seat 
for that purpose, and shall decide questions of order, subject 
to an appeal to the house by any member, on which appeal 
no member shall speak more than once, unless by leave of the 
house." 

A 'point of order' means a question raised by a member as 
to whether the method of procedure to which he objects is 
in accordance with the rules of the house. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 73 

"He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting. 

" Questions shall be put in this form, namely: 'Those in 
favor (as the question may be) will say aye/ and after the 
affirmative voice has been expressed, ' Those opposed will 
sayjio.' Upon a call for a division, the speaker shall count; 
if required, he shall appoint tellers. 

"The 'speaker shall have a general direction of the hall. 
Heshall have a right to name any member to perform the 
duties'oFthe chair, but substitution shall not extend beyond 
one day, except in case of sickness or by leave of the house. 

"Aircommittees shall be appointed by the speaker, unless 
otherwise specially ordered by the house. 

"In all elections the speaker may vote. In all other cases 
he "may exercise his right to vote, or he may reserve his right 
until there is a tie. 

"All acts, addresses, and resolutions shall be signed by the 
speaker, and all warrants and subpoenas issued by order of 
the house shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the 
clerk." 

A subpoena is a writ requiring a person named therein to 
appear at a certain time and place. 

POWERS AND RESTRICTIONS 

90. Elections by Legislature. — A most important *power 
of the legislature, if it should ever come to be exercised, is 
that of electing the governor and other officers of the executive 
department in cases where there may be a tie. Of no less 
importance is the 2 power to decide contested elections, — that 
is, to declare who is elected when two or more persons claim 



74 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



to have received the highest number of votes for the office of 
governor or other office in the executive department. 

In such cases the judgment of the general assembly is de- 
clared by * joint ballot. 

91. Impeachment and Removal from Office. — Another very 
great power of the legislature is that of impeaching certain 
officers of the government. An officer liable to impeachment 
must be arraigned before the senate upon charges — articles 
of impeachment as they are called — preferred, or framed, 
by the house of representatives. No person impeached can 
be convicted except upon the concurrence of two-thirds of 
the senators present and a majority is necessary for a quo- 
rum. Such conviction, however, does not extend beyond 
removal from office and disqualification to hold office. 

The following causes, or charges, are sufficient, when proved, 
to warrant conviction: (1) corruption in office; (2) habitual 
drunkenness; (3) intoxication while in the exercise of office; 
(4) drunkenness in any public place; (5) mental or physical 
incompetence to discharge the duties of office; (6) any crim- 
inal matter the conviction whereof would tend to bring the 
office into public contempt. 

The manner in which the legislature exercises the power 
of impeachment and removal is indicated in the following 
sections of the constitution: 

3 "The house of representatives solely shall have the power of 
impeaching. No person shall be convicted without the con- 
currence of two-thirds of the senators present. When the 
governor is impeached the chief justice shall preside." 

4 "The court for the trial of impeachments shall be the sen- 
ate. A majority of the members shall be necessary to a quo- 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 75 

rum, and the judgment shall not extend beyond removal from 
and disqualification to hold office in this state; but the party 
shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to 
law." 

92. Offices Created by Statute. — The legislature has the 
power to create by statute offices not established by the con- 
stitution; it may adopt any method of election or appointment 
to such offices, and of filling vacancies therein, as it sees fit. 

Though all civil officers of the state may be removed by 
impeachment, the legislature may, and usually does, provide 
more direct means for vacating offices created by statute. 
It may give the governor the power of suspending or removing 
an officer from such office; or it may abolish his office and so 
legislate him out of it. 

For a long time, it was contended and held by our state 
courts that a man had such a property in his office that the 
appointment thereto was in the nature of a contract, the 
obligations of which could not be impaired at the will of the 
lawmakers. At last, after much discussion and litigation, 
it was held and probably forever Settled (as it had already 
been by the 2 United States courts) that the public interests 
and the requirements of the public service outweighed any 
interests which an officer might have in his salary, fees, or 
honors. 

93. Suspension of Laws. — A very great power of the legis- 
lature is its check upon the executive department. Legis- 
lative consent is required to 3 " suspend the laws of the state 
or the execution thereof/ ' though history is not wanting in 
examples where this power was assumed by the executive 



76 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



without authority. The 'laws' here referred to, which the 
legislature has power to suspend, repeal, or amend are the 
statutes. All three of the departments or branches of gov- 
ernment combined cannot suspend, repeal, or amend a single 
clause of the constitution, unless the power is given in the 
instrument itself. 

94. Affecting the Courts. — Of no less importance is the 
power to create Courts inferior to the supreme court (§151). 
Any powers of our state judiciary which do not belong to the 
supreme court may be 2 allotted and distributed among the 
courts established by the constitution or which may be es- 
tablished by law, in such manner as the legislature may deem 
best. The legislature may also Metermine the methods of 
proceeding in the exercise of the powers of all the courts infe- 
rior to the supreme court, as far as the same may be done with- 
out conflict with the provisions of the constitution. 

The supreme court is not necessarily subject, even in regard 
to its rules of procedure, to the control of the legislature. 
Indeed, the judges of the superior courts and other judicial 
officers cannot be directed in their judgments and decisions 
of law by either the legislative or the executive departments. 
The courts in the rightful exercise of the powers allotted them 
must be unhampered. Even the authority that regulates their 
methods of procedure, and often determines what shall be 
proofs and evidence of facts in the cases before them, cannot 
legislate them out of the powers and duties which rightfully 
belong to them as a coordinate branch of the government. 

95. The Taxing Power. — The 4 taxing power is most care- 
fully guarded and closely watched because it comes home to 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 77 

the people. One of the principal rules in its exercise is that 
no more should be collected from the people than is required 
for the expenses of the government economically admin- 
istered. Another good rule is that all who are able should 
be taxpayers, and that they should pay in proportion to the 
amount of property owned by them. 

96, Special Legislation Forbidden. — The policy of our law 
is against the legislature's dealing with particular cases re- 
specting individual rights — that is the business of the courts. 
For example, it cannot "grant 1 divorce or secure alimony in 
any individual case," or 2 "alter the name of any person/' or 
s "restore to the rights of citizenship any person convicted of 
an infamous crime." But it has power to 4 "pass general laws 
regulating" such matters as affect all whose rights and inter- 
ests are involved in the same way. The purpose of the consti- 
tution is to give to all "equal protection of the laws." A 
well-known maxim of the law is, "equality is equity." For 
this and many reasons of public policy, the passage of what 
are called private laws is discouraged. 

97. Forming Corporations. — The time of the general as- 
sembly should be devoted to matters of general interest. On 
this account our law provides that the secretary of state, under 
certain restrictions, shall grant charters to companies desiring 
to incorporate. An amendment to the constitution, adopted 
in 1916, substitutes the following section for the one pre- 
viously regulating corporations : 

"No Corporation shall be created nor shall its charter be 
extended, altered, or amended by special act, except corpora- 
tions for charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory pur- 



78 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

poses that are to be and remain under the patronage and 
control of the state; but the general assembly shall provide 
by general laws for the chartering and organization of all 
corporations and for the amending, extending, and forfeiture 
of all charters, except those above permitted by special act. 
All such general laws and special acts may be altered from 
time to time or repealed." 

98. Salaries and Fees. — Another legislative power is the 
prescribing and regulating of the salaries and fees of all 
officers acting under the state government. On this subject 
the constitution says, "salaries of the judges shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office." The com- 
pensation of executive officers shall be neither increased nor 
diminished during the time for which they are elected, and 
they shall receive no other emolument or allowance. 

99. Other Powers and Restrictions. — Other restrictions 
are laid upon the legislative department by the federal con- 
stitution and by recent amendments to the state constitution. 
By these last the legislature is forbidden to pass local, private 
or special acts relating to the establishment of courts, the 
appointment of justices, the control of streets, the remission 
of fines, the extension of the time for collecting taxes ; and 
relating to the names of cities, to ferries, bridges, cemeteries, 
the pay of jurors and other like matters. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. What is the number of your senatorial district? What territory does 

it include? 

2. Who is your state senator? Where does he live? 

3. By whom are you represented in the lower house of the general as- 

sembly ? 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 79 

4. How does a bill introduced in the legislature become a law ? 

5. What is the name of the publication in which the public laws passed 

by the general assembly are printed? 

6. Are all of the laws included in this publication? If not, where may the 
laws not included therein be found? 

7. Does ignorance of the law excuse one for violating it? 

& Name several offices in your county (or city) that were created by 

statute. 
9. What officers other than a presiding officer has each branch of the 

legislature? 

10. When and for what purpose was the last extra session of the legislature 

held? 

11. If the legislature is in session, follow its proceedings in the newspapers. 

What important measures are under discussion? 



CHAPTER VI 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF NORTH CAROLINA 



ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE 

ioo. Executive Officers. — The governor, the lieutenant 
governor, the secretary of state, the auditor, the treasurer, 
the superintendent of public instruction, and the attorney- 
general constitute the officers of the executive department spe- 
cially described as such in the constitution. It is well to note 
in this connection, however, that any officer, other than a ju- 
dicial one, who helps to execute or administer the laws is an 
executive officer, whether he be 2 civil or military, whether he 
be local (for a particular part of the state), or general (for 
the whole state), or special (for special duties in different 
parts of the state). 

101. Term of Office. — The governor, who is also called the 
chief executive of the state, and the other officers of the exec- 
utive department are elected for a 3 term of four years. This 
term is authorized by the constitution to 4 begin on the first 
day of January next following their election and to Continue 
until their successors are elected and qualified. In practice, 
however, and by the authority of the Constitution, their term 
does not begin until they take the oath of office. 

102. Inauguration and Installation. — The time for the inau- 
guration of the governor and the installation of the other officers 
of the executive department is set for some day in January 

[80] 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 81 

later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday, when 
the session of the general assembly begins. One purpose of 
this is that the governor may take his oath of office in the 
^resepce of the two houses, and that the term of so impor- 
tant an officer may be entered upon with appropriate cere- 
monies. 

Another reason for the postponement of the beginning of the 
terms of the officers of the executive department until after 
the first day of January is that the election returns may be 
2 opened by the speaker of the house in the presence of the 
general assembly in joint session assembled, and the results 
of the election officially Ascertained and declared. Any 
4 contest between two or more persons claiming the same 
office is settled by joint ballot of both houses. In case of a 
5 tie, a governor or other officer of the executive department 
is also elected by joint ballot. 

THE GOVERNOR 

103. General Powers and Restrictions. — The governor is the 
supervisor of all executive officers, exercising his powers, 
however, under the limitations of the constitution and in the 
manner directed by law. Over the officers of the judicial 
and legislative departments he exercises no control, as the 
6 three departments of government " ought to be forever sep- 
arate and distinct from each other." 

The restrictions upon the governor's powers reside in the 
legislature as far as the constitution authorizes. The 7 clauses 
relating to such restrictions, though addressed to that body 
may also be considered as commands to the governor. 



82 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

104. Residence. — It is the duty of the governor to Vesicle 
at the seat of government which, it is declared, shall remain 
at 2 Raleigh. 

105. Messages. — He is required to give the general assem- 
bly from time to time 3 " information of the affairs of the state, 
and 4 recommend to their consideration such measures as he 
shall deem expedient.' ' The papers or documents in which 
such information and recommendations are made are called 
the "Messages of the Governor/ ' With his biennial message 
to the general assembly at each 5 regular session, he transmits 
the 6 reports of the officers of the executive department and 
of the state institutions. These reports are Required to be 
made to him at least five days previous to the beginning of 
such session. 

106. Appointments to Office. — The 8 governor, with the advice 
and consent of the senate, is authorized to appoint all officers 
whose offices are established by the constitution, and whose 
appointments are not Otherwise provided for. But now 
(since the amendments to the constitution of 1875) that instru- 
ment " otherwise' ' provides for the election or appointment 
of all the 10 civil officers mentioned therein except in cases 
of vacancy, which are considered elsewhere. 

In case the legislature makes no provision for filling an 
office created by statute (§92), the appointing power rests 
with the governor. "He shall see that all offices are filled 
and the duties thereof performed, or in default thereof apply 
such remedy as the law allows, and if the remedy is imper- 
fect acquaint the general assembly therewith. ,, 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 83 

The governor fills all Vacancies in the principal judicial 
offices, and all the vacancies in the Executive department 
below the office of lieutenant governor, who must in all cases 
be elected by the people. The officers appointed to fill these 
vacancies hold their offices until the next regular election for 
members of the general assembly at which time officers are 
elected to take their places for the remainder of the unexpired 
term. In case of vacancy, however, for mere temporary 
disability, such as a spell of sickness, the officer resumes* his 
office when his disability ceases. 

Under the seventeenth Amendment to the federal consti- 
tution, the governor has the right, if empowered by the legis- 
lature, to appoint a senator to represent North Carolina in 
Congress when a vacancy occurs. The governor's appointee 
holds office only until a senator can be elected in an election 
called for the purpose. No temporary appointment is made 
in the case of a vacancy in the house of representatives. The 
constitution provides, "When Vacancies happen in the repre- 
sentation from any state, the executive thereof shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies." 

107. Commander-in-chief. — The governor is Commander- 
in-chief of the militia (citizen soldiers of the state), except 
when they are called into the service of the United States. 
He has 6 power to call them out "to execute the law, suppress 
riots or insurrection, and repel invasion." As their comman- 
der, he may 7 appoint and remove their officers while they are 
in the service of the state, except in so far as his authority 
may be in part controlled by the general assembly, which has 
the 8 power to organize and arm the militia and make laws 
for their government 



84 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

1 08. Pardoning Power. — The governor has the *power also 
to grant pardon and reprieves, and to commute sentences. 
There are several kinds of pardons. An absolute pardon 
frees the criminal of his punishment without any condition 
whatever attached. A conditional pardon makes the perform- 
ance of some special act necessary to its validity. A general 
pardon includes a number or class of lawbreakers and is 
called an amnesty. A reprieve postpones the punishment 
for a time. A commutation changes the punishment to some- 
thing less than the sentence pronounced by the judge. 

109. Other Duties. — If a person commits a crime in this 
state and then escapes to another state, it becomes the duty 
of the governor to request the governor of the other state 
to turn over the criminal to the officers of this state. Like- 
wise, when a person charged with crime in another state, 
escapes into North Carolina, the governor of this state gives 
the criminal into the hands of the authorities of the other 
state. This is called extradition. The governor also acts 
for the state in dealings with other states and the United 
States ; inquires into the management of state institutions ; 
provides seals for the various departments; employs counsel 
to represent the state in suits ; orders special terms of courts 
and appoints judges for them; and appoints a day of thanks- 
giving annually. 

no. Council of State. — The Secretary of state, auditor, 
treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction consti- 
tute, ex-officio, the council of state, which advises the 
governor in the execution of his office. The governor's private 
secretary acts as secretary to the council of state and to other 
public boards. He may be, and usually is, appointed military 
secretary to the governor with the rank of colonel. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 85 



THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR 

in. When Governor. — In case the governor is impeached, 
or fails to qualify, or is absent from the state, or unable to 
discharge the duties of his office; or, if the office becomes 
vacant, the powers, the duties, and emoluments thereof de- 
volve upon the lieutenant governor. He continues to fill 
the office until the disability of the governor ceases, or another 
governor is 2 elected and qualified. If the disability is per- 
manent, as in the case of death, resignation, or impeachment, 
the lieutenant governor fills the unexpired term, — that is, 
he holds the office until a new governor is elected and quali- 
fied. 

When a lieutenant governor who fills the unexpired term 
of the governor is elected to succeed himself, he occupies this 
office for more than 3 "four years in a period of eight/ ' which 
is forbidden by the constitution in all other cases. To illus- 
trate: Lieutenant Governor Jarvis, who succeeded Gover- 
nor Vance, when the latter resigned to become United States 
senator, was himself elected governor to succeed himself. 

112. President of the Senate. — The ordinary duties of the 
lieutenant governor aire exercised by him as president of the 
senate. As such he receives the same 4 pay as the speaker of 
the house of representatives (six dollars a day and mileage), 
5 "and he shall receive no other compensation except when he 
is acting as governor." 

113. Succession. — When the duties of governor devolve 
upon the lieutenant governor, the senate elects its presiding 
officer. In case both governor and lieutenant governor are 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



disqualified, this elected president of the senate succeeds to 
the duties, powers, and emoluments of governor. He holds 
the office until the next general election, unless the disabili- 
ties or disqualifications sooner cease or are removed, 

THE SECRETARY OF STATE 

114. Special Duties. — The secretary of state is a member 
of the council of state, of the state board of education, of the 
board of public buildings and grounds, and a trustee of the 
state library. 

115. General Duties. — (a) Custodian of Laws and Docu- 
ments. — It is his duty to attend every session of the legisla- 
ture for the purpose of receiving bills which shall have become 
laws. He shall determine which are public and which are 
private laws. Private laws may be defined to be those which 
operate on particular persons or private concerns. 

He is required to have the laws printed, bound, and pre- 
served. He shall have prepared for publication indexes and 
captions to the acts and resolutions ratified by the general 
assembly. He shall have distributed, when printed, copies 
of the laws, the senate and house journals, the acts of Con- 
gress received at his office, and the reports of the supreme 
court. 

He is required to attend the governor for the purpose of 
receiving documents which have passed the great seal, — 
that is, those official documents issued by the governor to 
which the great seal of state must be attached. He must 
make all necessary provisions for the arrangement and pre- 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 87 

servation of these documents, and of all the books, records, 
deeds, parchments, maps, and papers which may hereafter 
be placed by law in his hand for safekeeping. 

(6) Prepares Certificates of Election. — It is the duty 
of the secretary of state to prepare a certificate for each person 
declared elected by the state board of canvassers. He shall 
record the result of elections in a book to be called the " elec- 
tion book." He must furnish to the county officers such 
books and blanks as are necessary to secure the permanent 
rolls of registered voters in the counties, and shall preserve 
in his office these rolls when sent in by the county officers. 

(c) Issues Land Grants. — The secretary of state issues 
grants for vacant and unappropriated lands which are subject 
to entry. An entry is made by presenting to the entry-taker 
of the county where the land lies a writing signed by the claim- 
ant describing the land which he proposes to enter; there- 
upon, if no legal impediment is found, the entry-taker issues 
his warrant requiring the county surveyor to make a survey 
and plat of the land. 

Upon receipt of the warrant, survey, and plat, the secre- 
tary of state issues a grant to the claimant. The warrant, 
plat, and survey are filed in his office as permanent records 
subject to the inspection of the public. 

All the land in North Carolina now owned by individuals, 
companies, or corporations was originally granted either by 
the lords proprietors, by the crown of Great Britain, or by 
the state. 

(d) Grants Charters to Corporations. — Through the sec- 
retary of state, all corporations formed for business or charitable 
purposes under the general laws of the state are chartered. 



88 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

This includes all corporations, except those chartered by spe- 
cial acts of the legislature. A charter is granted by special 
act in the case of charitable, educational, penal, or reforma- 
tory institutions under state control. 

Any three or more persons desiring to form a corporation 
for the conduct of any lawful business may enter into an agree- 
ment in writing, setting forth the name, objects, and location 
of the proposed corporation and other matters required by 
law. This agreement, which is called the "certificate of incor- 
poration," is signed by the persons forming the association or 
a majority of them, proved or acknowledged before a properly 
qualified officer, and filed in the office of the secretary of 
state. If found to be in accordance w T ith law, the secretary of 
state causes it to be recorded in his office in a book for that 
purpose, known as the "corporation book." 

The secretary of state, upon the payment of the organiza- 
tion tax and fees, certifies under his official seal a copy 
of the said certificate of incorporation and the probates 
(proofs) thereof. The certified copy is then recorded in the 
office of the clerk of the superior court of the county in which 
is located the corporation's principal place of business. The 
charter is the certificate of incorporation duly acknowledged 
and filed with the secretary of state, as required by law. 

"The persons so associated, their successors and their as- 
signs, shall, from the date of such filing in said office of the 
secretary of state, be and constitute a body corporate by the 
name set forth in such certificate of incorporation, subject to 
amendment and dissolution in the manner provided by law." 

(e) .Receives Reports. — To the secretary of state reports 
are made by the officers of all corporations authorized to 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION SO 

transact business in the state, except those required by law 
to report to the corporation commission or to the insurance 
commission. The four classes of corporations that do not 
report to the secretary of state are: 

Public service corporations, such as railroads, steamboats, 
telegraph and telephone companies; (2) such financial insti- 
tutions as banks and loan and trust companies; (3) insurance 
companies and such orders and associations as do insurance 
business; (4) building and loan associations. 

(/) Miscellaneous Duties. — He is required to register 
all trade-marks ; certify to accounts for labor done about the 
capitol; purchase stationery for the general assembly, the 
supreme court and the public library; and contract for lights 
and fuel for the general assembly, the public offices and the 
governor's dwelling. He publishes annually a complete list, 
in alphabetical order, of existing domestic corporations, and 
of the certificates of incorporation filed during the year, along 
with other information concerning corporations. lie also 
has charge of the registration of automobiles, and issues the 
licenses and furnishes the display numbers. 

THE AUDITOR 

116. Special Duties The auditor is a member of the 

council of state, of the state board of education, and of the 
state board of pensions. 

117. General Duties. — Among his principal duties are the 
following : 

To superintend the fiscal (financial or monetary) concerns 
of the state. 



90 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

To report to the governor annually and to the general assem- 
bly at the beginning of each biennial session a complete state- 
ment of the revenues and of the public expenditures during 
the preceding fiscal year. (This fiscal year ends on the thir- 
tieth day of November.) 

To examine and settle the accounts of all persons indebted 
to the state, and to certify the amount of the balance to the 
treasurer. 

To direct and superintend the collection of all moneys due 
to the state. / 

To require all persons who have received any moneys be- 
longing to the state and have not accounted therefor, to set- 
tle their accounts. 

To examine and issue warrants for the payment of the 
claims of all persons to whom the state is indebted where there 
is sufficient provision of law for such payment. Where there 
is not sufficient provision, he reports the fact to the general 
assembly. 

To transmit to the clerks of the superior courts of the sev- 
eral counties a correct list of the pensioners, with their post 
offices, as allowed by the state board of pensions. 

To prepare and transmit to the counties printed forms to 
be used in assessing and listing property for taxation, and 
blank forms or lists for the use of taxpayers in reporting their 
property for taxation. 

Banks, banking associations, and saving institutions (wheth- 
er state or national) are required to list annually with the 
auditor for taxation all shares of capital stock whether held 
by residents or non-residents. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 91 

Capital stock is defined to be the sum fixed by the corpor- 
ate charter as the amount paid in or to be paid in by the stock- 
holders for the prosecution of the business of the corporation. 
The capital stock is divided into equal amounts called shares, 
for which the law provides that every stockholder shall have 
a certificate. 

Corporations, joint stock companies, and limited partner- 
ships (the last two of which resemb'e corporations) are re- 
quired, unless it is otherwise provided by law, to make a 
report annually to the auditor, showing their financial condi- 
tion and the manner of conducting their business, 

THE TREASURER 

1 1 8. Special Duties. — The treasurer is a member of the coun- 
cil of state, of the state board of education, and of the board 
of public buildings and grounds. 

119. General Duties. — (a) Receives and Pays Moneys and 
Issues Bonds. — He receives all moneys that are paid into the 
treasury of the state, and pays all warrants (money demands) 
legally drawn on him by the auditor of the state. He signs 
and issues all state bonds authorized by the general assembly. 

Bonds are printed or written obligations under seal. They 
evidence or show the indebtedness of the state and the inter- 
est accruing thereon. There are two classes, registered bonds 
and coupon bonds. The interest on the coupon bonds is evi- 
denced by the coupons. A coupon is attached to the bond and 
is clipped therefrom w T hen the interest it evidences becomes 
due. It is then presented to the treasurer for payment. The 
coupon, like the bond from which it is clipped, is negotiable, — 



92 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

that is, it is payable to the bearer. The treasurer is justified 
in presuming that the holder is the owner unless the contrary 
is made to appear. The registered bonds have no coupons 
thereon, and can be transferred only in the office of the treas- 
urer by the treasurer himself. The interest on registered 
bonds is paid by a check direct from his office. Neither class 
of bonds requires a warrant from the auditor to authorize their 
payment, or for the payment of the interest thereon. 

(6) Reports to Governor and General Assembly. — 
The treasurer must report to the governor annually, and to 
the general assembly at the beginning of each biennial session 
the exact balance in the treasury to the credit of the state. 
He is required to make a summary of the receipts and payments 
during the preceding fiscal year, and as far as practicable, 
he shall give an account of the same down to the end of the 
calendar year. 

(c) Other Duties. — It is the treasurer's duty to submit 
to the general assembly a complete act for raising revenue 
(taxes) ; or to suggest what amendments and changes should 
be made in the law in force. 

He also submits to the general assembly the amount of the 
appropriations which will be required for the support of the 
different institutions of the state. 

He is also to construe the Revenue and Machinery Acts 
(the statutes for collecting taxes). His decisions are under 
the law prima facie correct, — that is, presumed to be correct, 
unless the contrary is shown — and they protect the 
officers affected thereby. 

He must sue for and collect all money and property of the 
state held by any person without authority of law. 



G0VERX1IEXT IX OPERATIOX 93 

(d) Treasurer of State Institutions. — The treasurer 
is also ex-officio treasurer of the department of agriculture ; 
of the State College of Agriculture and Engineering ; of the 
North Carolina School for the Deaf and Dumb, at Morgan- 
ton; of the North Carolina Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, 
and Blind, at Raleigh ; of the State Hospitals for the Insane ; 
of the State's Prison ; and of the Soldiers' Home. 

The SUPERINTENDENT of PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

120. Special Duties. — The superintendent of public in- 
struction is a member of the council of state and of the state 
board of education. He is chairman of the board of directors 
of the State Normal and Industrial College and of the board 
of examiners of the East Carolina Teachers' Training School. 
He is also a trustee of the state library. 

121. General Duties. — The superintendent of public in- 
struction directs the operation of the system of public schools, 
and enforces the school law. The county boards of education, 
and all other school officers in the several counties, are re- 
quired to obey his instructions and to accept his construction 
of the school law. It is his duty to correspond with leading 
educators in other states and to investigate their systems of 
public schools. As far as practicable, he shall render the 
results of his investigations available for the information and 
aid of the legislature and the state board of education. 

It is his duty to acquaint himself with the peculiar educa- 
tional wants of the several sections of the state and to take all 
proper means to supply such wants by counseling with county 
boards of education and county superintendents. 



94 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

In the discharge of his duties he delivers lectures and 
addresses before teachers' institutes and public assemblies on 
subjects relating to public schools and school work. 

It is his duty to make a report biennially to the governor. 
This report shall contain information and statistics in refer- 
ence to the public schools, and such recommendations for 
improvement in the school laws as may occur to him. 

He is required to sign all requisitions on the auditor for the 
payment of money out of the state treasury for school purposes. 

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL 

122. Special Duties. — The attorney-general is a member of 
the state board of education, of the board of pensions, and of 
the board of public buildings and grounds. Though not a 
member of the council of state, he sits with it as legal adviser. 

123. General Duties. — It is the duty of the attorney-gen- 
eral to defend all actions in the supreme court in which the 
state shall be interested or is a party; and, when requested 
by the governor or by either branch of the general assembly, 
to appear for the state in any other court or tribunal in any 
cause or matter, civil or criminal, in which the state may be 
a party or have an interest. 

At the request of the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, 
corporation commissioner, insurance commissioner, or superin- 
tendent of public instruction, he is required to prosecute and 
defend all suits relating to matters connected with their 
respective departments. In other words, he is ex officio the 
legal adviser of the executive department. 

It is also the duty of the attorney general: 

To represent all state institutions, including the state's 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 95 

prison, whenever requested to do so by the official heads of 
any such institutions. 

To consult with and advise the solicitors (the state's prose- 
cuting attorneys in the superior courts), when requested by 
them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their office. 

To give, when required, his opinion upon all questions of law 
submitted to him by the general assembly, or by either branch 
thereof, or by the governor, or any other state officer. 

To pay into the treasury all moneys received for the state 
immediately after the receipt thereof. 

BOARDS AND DEPARTMENTS 

124. State Board of Education. — "'The governor, lieutenant 
governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, superinten- 
dent of public instruction, and attorney-general shall consti- 
tute a state board of education." 

2 "The governor shall be president, and the superintendent of 
public instruction shall be secretary of the board of educa- 
tion." 

3 "The board of education shall succeed to all the powers and 
trusts of the president and directors of the literary fund of 
North Carolina, and shall have full power to legislate and make 
all needful rules and regulations in relation to free public 
schools and the educational fund of the state; but all acts, 
rules, and regulations of said board may be altered, amended, 
or repealed by the general assembly, and when so altered, 
amended, or repealed, they shall not be reenacted by the 
board." 

125. Department of Agriculture. — Important aids to the 
executive department, not specifically mentioned in the con- 



96 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

stitution, have been added by the legislature. One of these 
is the commissioner of agriculture. He is elected at the 
general election for other state officers and his term of office 
is four years. He is, ex-officio, a member and chairman of 
the board of agriculture, which comprises ten other members 
appointed by the governor by and with the consent of the 
senate. 

In co-operation with the board of agriculture he is charged 
with certain duties relating to the encouragement and pro- 
tection of agriculture. Among these duties may be mentioned : 
(1) the inspection of fertilizers, and the giving of information 
in regard to their use; (2) the investigation of the ravages of 
insects; (3) experiments directed to the introduction and 
fostering of new agricultural and horticultural industries; 
(•4) the investigation of the subject of drainage and irriga- 
tion; (5) the supervision of all measures for the propagation 
and culture of fish in the rivers and inland waters of the 
state; (6) the holding of institutes for the instruction of 
farmers in agriculture and in the use of fertilizers; (7) the 
sending out of information relative to the advantages of soil 
and climate, natural resources, and industrial opportunities 
of the state. 

126. The Insurance Department. — This department was 
formed by the general assembly in 1899. Prior to that time 
the supervision of insurance companies was in the hands of the 
secretary of state. The officer now in charge of it is known 
as the insurance commissioner. He represents the state in all 
of its dealings with insurance companies and all associations 
and orders which do insurance business. He has also the 
supervision of building and loan associations. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 97 

It is his duty : to pass on all applications for licenses made 
by companies under the supervision of liis department; to 
decide whether a company should be licensed to do business 
in North Carolina ; to supervise companies and revoke their 
licenses when they fail to comply with the law. 

To collect all licenses, fees, and taxes due the state by the 
companies and associations doing business under his de- 
partment. 

To look into all violations of the insurance laws and hear 
complaints of citizens of the state against any company; 
and, if necessary to protect the rights of citizens, to insti- 
tute suits in court. 

To collect reports of all fires in the state ; investigate sus- 
picious cases of fire and have persons suspected of setting 
fire to property prosecuted in the courts. 

To enforce the law regulating the erection and inspection 
of buildings. 

To keep all state property insured and to inspect state 
buildings annually with a view to fire protection. 

127. Bureau of Labor and Printing. — The commissioner 
of labor and printing has charge of the bureau of labor and 
printing established by the legislature at the capital. He is 
elected for four years at the general election of state officers. 
He is aided by an assistant, who acts as commissioner in his 
absence. 

The duties of the commissioner are to collect and arrange 
information and statistics concerning: 

(a) Labor. — Its conditions, needs, earnings and relations 
to capital. 



98 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

(b) Industries. — Mining, manufacturing and milling — 
their capacity, products and capital. 

(c) Water Powers. 

(d) Farm Lands and Farming. — Trucking, dairying and 
farm products. 

He also discharges the duties of mine inspector, examining 
mines and mining machinery to ascertain their condition and 
security. 

He has under his supervision the public printing and 
binding. 

128. Board of Internal Improvements.— This body is com- 
posed of the governor, who is ex officio president, and two 
other members appointed biennially by the governor with 
the assent of the senate. 

The board has charge of the state's interest in railroads, 
canals and other internal improvements, and of all state 
institutions except the higher educational institutions which 
are not also charitable. 

The governor may require a member of the board to investi- 
gate the affairs of any railroad, turnpike, canal or other 
public improvement; also the affairs of the state hospital 
or other institutions in which the state is interested, and the 
conduct of their officials. 

The board may require the superintendents of institutions 
in which the state owns an interest, except the higher educa- 
tional institutions, to make reports. The board is required 
to report biennially to the general assembly on state insti- 
tutions and buildings, and railroads, canals and other public 
improvements. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 99 

129. Board of Public Charities. — Five members elected 
by the legislature for two years constitute this board. 

Their duties are: 

To investigate and supervise the state penal and charitable 
institutions. 

To inquire into the effects on the state of crime and 
pauperism. 

To study the causes of insanity, degeneracy and deformity. 

The board has the power to make all needed investigations 
of jails, almshouses and the condition of the prisoners; to 
send insane persons confined in almshouses and elsewhere to 
the state hospital; to require information from the superin- 
tendents of charitable and penal institutions concerning their 
charges; to receive from the county commissioners informa- 
tion in regard to the number and condition of inmates of 
poorhouses and jails, together with the number of paupers, 
deaf mutes, blind, insane and idiotic persons not in a public 
institution. 

The board of public charities reports annually to the gov- 
ernor on the condition of the penal and charitable institutions 
of the state. 

130. Historical Commission. — Five commissioners and a 
secretary make up the historical commission. Their principal 
duties are to preserve and publish documents and records 
relating to North Carolina history. The secretary gives his 
time to this work. 

The legislative reference library is a department of this 
commission. The commission appoints aj librarian, who col- 
lects and arranges information on matters which have been 



100 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the subjects of state legislation for the use of the assembly 
and the executive, and keeps the laws revised to date. 

130a. Other Commissions. — (a) State Library Commission—- -This is 
composed of the superintendent of public instruction, the state librarian 
and three other members. The commission appoints a trained librarian ; 
and assists libraries in the state and advises communities and persons 
proposing to establish libraries. 

(6) Textbook Commission — The state board of education is also the 
textbook commission. The governor is ex-officio president, and the state 
superintendent, secretary; they appoint a sub-commission of six mem- 
bers, which examines textbooks and recommends them for use in the 
public schools of the state. The commission and the sub-commission to- 
gether adopt the textbooks. 

(c) State Board of Health — This board is composed of four members 
chosen by the state medical society and five other persons appointed 
by the governor. The term of office is six years, and one member must 
be a sanitary engineer. The board looks after the health of the people 
of the state. 

(d) Fisheries Commission Board — The commission consists of five 
members selected by the governor. It enforces the laws relating to the 
protection of food fishes and appoints a commissioner. This officer in- 
vestigates violations of the law, and appoints two assistant commission- 
ers, besides inspectors in each of the counties' containing fisheries. 

(c) State Highway Commission — The governor and six members ap- 
pointed by him compose this commission; two are professors of civil en- 
gineering in North Carolina state colleges. It selects a civil engineer 
trained in road building, who makes surveys and estimates for roads. 
The commission assists counties in developing a general system of im- 
proved roads and also co-operates with highway commissions of other states 
and the federal government so as to form a national system of roads. 

130b. The Militia. — The militia is composed of all the able-bodied 
citizens of the state between the ages of eighteen and forty. It has two 
branches, the active militia, organized into companies, and the inactive, 
made up of all other citizens subject to military duty. 

The governor of the state has the right to call out the militia in case 
of riots or disturbances within the state. The militia of all the states 
make up the militia of the United States. The president of the United 
States has the power to call out the militia for war or for the service of 
the whole country. The militia then pass from the state authority under 
the authority of the United States government and are subject to the 
same rules and entitled to the same privileges as the regular soldiers 
of the United States army. 

The laws of North Carolina forbid the carrying of concealed weapons, 
but this prohibition does not apply to soldiers employed in active service, 
©r officers, like sheriffs and policemen, engaged in executing the laws. 



CHAPTER VII 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF NORTH CAROLINA 



STRUCTURE, POWERS, AND JURISDICTION 

131. Courts and Judicial Power. — The judicial power of 
the state is vested in : (1) a court for the trial of impeachments, 
which is the senate branch of the legislature; (2) a supreme 
court; (3) the superior courts; (4) courts of justices of the 
peace; (5) such other inferior courts as may be established by 
the lawmaking power. 

The judicial power is that portion of the sovereign author- 
ity of the people which they have delegated to the courts or 
permitted them to exercise. 

A distinguishing feature of the courts is that they declare 
what the law is. They cannot make law — that is a legisla- 
tive function— but they have the right and it is their duty to 
construe or tell the meaning of law. This they do in a parti- 
cular case on trial, or in some matter legally brought before 
them which they are required to hear and decide. 

132. Jurisdiction. — In the division of the judicial power that 

portion of it which is given to any court is called its jurisdiction. 

This is the authority which enables a court to try suits and to 

hear and decide cases and questions which come before it. 

Such authority is given by law and can only be exercised within 

the limits allowed by law. 

[ioi] 



102 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Jurisdiction is allotted to the courts according to the pur- 
poses for which they are organized or established. The lower 
or inferior courts are allowed to try only small cases — such as 
involve disputes about property of little value and offenses 
which are punishable with slight punishment. Other courts 
have wider jurisdiction, — that is, they may try cases where 
high crimes or large amounts of property are involved. 

Some courts can only try cases begun in them; while others 
may also take cognizance of cases which come to them by way 
of appeal and try them over again or examine into the trials 
first had and decide them as the law prescribes. Courts which 
can try cases over, or hear appeals, are said to have appellate 
jurisdiction. Courts in which the case is begun or originated 
are said to have original jurisdiction. 

Four of the five kinds of courts provided for in the consti- 
tution and above enumerated are courts of ordinary juris- 
diction. They have power to try persons accused of ordinary 
violations of the criminal law and to punish such as are law- 
fully convicted. They also try actions for debts and money 
demands and cases involving disputes about property. The 
court which the constitution first names is one of extraordi- 
nary jurisdiction. This is only organized for a special pur- 
pose and to try a particular case of extraordinary importance. 

We now consider the courts in the order in which they are 
named. 

COURT OF IMPEACHMENT 

133, Senate as a Court. — The senate sitting as a ^ourt of 
impeachment acts only in cases where some officer liable to 
impeachment has been arraigned before it on a charge or char- 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 103 

ges preferred by the house of representatives. In such cases 
the house may be said to act in the capacity of a grand jury 
making a grand inquest (an investigation or inquiry) for the 
state at large and also in the capacity of a public prosecutor 
upon charges — articles of impeachment, as they are called — 
which it has framed. 

The offenses for which an officer may be impeached and the 
method of procedure have already been considered (§91) „ 

THE SUPREME COURT 

134. Judges. — The Supreme court consists of five members, 
the chief justice and four associate justices. They are elected 
by the qualified voters of the state and hold their offices for 
a term of eight years. 

135. Judicial Power. — A very large portion of the judicial 
power is exercised by the supreme court. It is the court of 
appeal or last resort, the highest court of ordinary jurisdiction 
in the state, the head of our judicial system as a coordinate 
branch of the state government. 

136. Business and Procedure. — While there are a few mat- 
ters of rare occurrence which may be originated in the su- 
preme court and heard for the first time, the vast bulk of its 
business is done in reviewing and correcting the trials and 
judgments of the courts below it. 

There is no jury in this court to determine facts nor grand 
jury to bring charges against those accused of crime. There 
are no summonses or writs to commence suits, and witnesses 
do not go there to testify. No criminal is brought there to 
be tried. The cases are heard and considered upon briefs or 



104 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



printed arguments filed by the lawyers in behalf of the parties 
they represent, though the lawyers usually also make speeches 
or oral arguments to the court. 

137. Appellate Jurisdiction. — The supreme court does not in 
a strict sense try cases — it hears appeals. It reads and re- 
views the records or history of trials of cases held in the supe- 
rior courts, for all appeals come to it from those courts, no 
matter where the trials of the cases appealed were first or origi- 
nally had. If error is found upon such review or examina- 
tion, it is corrected, or ordered to be corrected, or the case is 
sent back to the superior court for a new trial with instruc- 
tions as to how the new trial shall be conducted. 

A new trial is granted when the judge in the superior court 
has misdirected the jury, or omitted to give proper instruc- 
tion; or when the jury was unlawfully constituted or improp- 
erly influenced; or when the evidence submitted was such 
as the jury ought not to have considered. 

If the supreme court finds that the case has been properly 
tried in the superior court the decision of the latter court 
stands and is affirmed. That is the end of the litigation ex- 
cept in those cases in which the constitution and laws of the 
United States are involved. In such cases appeal may be still 
further had to the supreme court of the United States. 

138. Original Jurisdiction. — Original jurisdiction, as we 
have already seen, is that which enables the court to take cog- 
nizance of or try a case in the first instance without waiting 
for the circumlocution of an appeal. 

The only original jurisdiction of the supreme court arises 
where there is a claim against the state. In taking such ori- 
ginal cognizance of claims against the state the supreme court 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 105 

considers only such cases as involve questions of law ; its judg- 
ments are only recommendatory — to be adopted if the legisla- 
ture sees fit. 

If there are any disputes about facts — issues of fact, asi 
they are called — as well as questions or issues of law, it is pro- 
vided that the issues of fact shall be first determined by a jury 
in the superior court. If only facts are in dispute and there 
are no questions of law, the proper tribunal for relief is the 
legislature. 

139. Officers. — The supreme court is assisted in the dis- 
charge of its duties by its officers. Among these the first to be 
mentioned is the attorney-general, who in addition to being the 
legal adviser of the executive department of the state govern- 
ment, represents the state in the criminal cases which are 
appealed to and argued before the supreme court. The general 
assembly of 1907 provided for an assistant attorney-general. 

The clerk of the supreme court is appointed by the court 
and holds his office for eight years. He is the custodian of its 
records, and keeps a record of its proceedings from day to day. 
He "certifies down," or sends to the superior courts, duly auth- 
enticated copies of its decisions and judgments for the guid- 
ance and instruction of these courts. 

The marshal of the supreme court is also appointed by the 
court. He keeps order in court, and is the librarian of the law 
library provided by the state for the use of its members and of 
the lawyers who attend upon its sessions. His general duties 
are in the nature of those of a sheriff in the superior courts. 
(§186). 

The reporter of the supreme court is employed by it to pub- 
lish its decisions and opinions in volumes called the "Supreme 
Court Eeports." 



106 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

THE SUPEKIOR COURT 

140. An Interesting Court. — The most interesting part of 
our judicial system is the superior court. There the judge 
delivers his charge to the juries, instructing them in the law 
which they are engaged in executing. The lawyers examine 
and cross-question witnesses and make speeches to the juries. 
The judge pronounces the sentence of the law upon persons 
convicted of crime. 

141. Judges and Judicial Districts. — The judges are 
1 elected by the people and hold office for eight years. The 
state is divided into two judicial divisions, the eastern and 
western. The eastern division includes the first ten judicial 
districts ; the western, those from eleven to twenty inclusive. 
The districts are composed of several adjoining counties and 
the judges hold court in all the counties of the districts in 
due turn. The judges resident in the eastern division pre- 
side in. the courts of that division, and the judges of the 
western division in the courts of that division. With the 
consent of the governor, however, judges may exchange courts 
with judges residing in the other division. 

142. Terms of Court — A term of court usually lasts from 
one week to three weeks according to the size of the county 
and the number of cases to be tried. The smaller counties — 
those having the least population — usually have only two 
terms a year; the larger ones more, as the legislature may 
prescribe. Special terms may be ordered by the governor, 
and with his consent judges may exchange courts ; a judge 
whose regular time it is to hold court in one county may 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 107 

hold it in another, and the judge whose place he takes may 
in turn hold court in his place. An amendment which went 
into effect in 1917 allows the legislature to provide for the 
selection of emergency judges to hold superior courts when 
regular judges are unable to attend court and when no other 
. judges are available. Such emergency judges have the power 
of regular judges in the courts they are appointed to hold. 

143. Appellate Jurisdiction. — In the matter of appellate 
jurisdiction the law is: "The superior courts shall have 
appellate jurisdiction of all issues of law or of fact determined 
by a clerk of the superior court or justice of the peace, and 
of all appeals from inferior courts for error assigned in 
matters of law as provided by law." 

The error is pointed out in the appeal made to the superior 
court. The cases which may be appealed are those originally 
tried by clerks of superior courts, justices of the peace, mayors 
of cities and towns and by other inferior courts. 

144. Original Jurisdiction. — In the matter of original 
jurisdiction the law gives superior courts jurisdiction in civil 
actions in which the exclusive original jurisdiction is not 
vested in other courts, and in criminal cases in which the 
punishment exceeds a fine of fifty dollars or imprisonment 
for thirty days ; and in affrays committed within one mile of 
the court and during its session. 

An affray is a fight between two or more persons in some 
public place causing terror to the people, and a superior court 
may punish affrays committed within the mile limit of the 
court, even though its ordinary jurisdiction does not extend 
to them. 

The statute further allows to the superior court 



108 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

original jurisdiction "of all offenses whereof exclusive original 
jurisdiction is given to justices of the peace, if some justice 
of the peace shall not within twelve months after the com- 
mission of the offense proceed to take official cognizance 
thereof." If no justice of the peace will bring the offender 
to justice within a year after the offense is committed, the 
superior court may assume jurisdiction. 

145. Procedure in Couft. — Actions in court are either civil 
or criminal. 

Civil actions are brought to settle disputes about property, 
or to collect debts, or to recover damages. They are com- 
menced by a summons commanding the defendant, or person 
sued, to appear in court and answer the complaint of the plain- 
tiff, or person who brings the suit. The complaint sets forth 
his cause of action. The plaintiff and the defendant are 
called the parties to the suit — the persons in interest. The 
complaint and answer and other papers of like nature filed 
by the parties are called the pleadings. The matters of fact 
in dispute are called the issues or issues of fact. 

A criminal action is commenced by a warrant ordering the 
arrest of some person or persons accused of crime or violation 
of the criminal law. The accused person is called the defend- 
ant. The written accusation against him describing his crime 
or offense is made by a grand jury, and is called an indict- 
ment. His denial of guilt is called his plea of not guilty. The 
indictment and his plea raise an issue of fact which must be 
tried by a jury. 

146. Jury Trial. — Trial by jury is the ancient and consti- 
tutional method of trying and settling issues of fact. It is 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 109 

a great aid to the courts in the administration of justice both 
in civil and criminal cases. 

The jury, or petit jury, as it is often called, is composed of 
twelve good and lawful men. They reach their conclusion, 
or verdict, after hearing the. testimony of the witnesses, the 
charge or instructions of the judge, and in most cases the 
speeches of the lawyers. The verdict of the jury must be 
unanimous. When there is disagreement, there is another 
trial. 

147. The Grand Jury. — The grand jury must consist of as 
many as twelve men, though there may be eighteen. It exam- 
ines the witnesses against the accused and ascertains if there 
is good ground or probable cause to put the defendant on trial. 
If so, it finds what is called a true bill of indictment. It re- 
quires the consent of as many as twelve of the grand jurors 
to make the indictment valid. 

The grand jury also visits the jails and poorhouses of the 
county to ascertain the condition of the same and to find out 
whether the inmates are being cared* for as required by law. 

148. Selection of Jury. — The manner of selecting the jury, 
whether petit or grand jury, is always a matter of vital inter- 
est. The county commissioners (§183) of each county make 
out a list of its good and lawful citizens, — those who have paid 
their taxes, are of good moral character, and of sufficient intel- 
ligence. Their names are written on small scrolls of paper 
resembling ballots, one name on each scroll. These scrolls are 
then placed in a box, which has two divisions marked 1 and 2. 
Whenever a court is about to be held, a child, not more than 
ten years old, draws out of division No. 1 of the box a number 



110 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



of scrolls equal to the number of men required to make up the 
jury; the scrolls are then placed in division No. 2. 

The sheriff summons the persons whose names appear on 
these scrolls, and they constitute the jury for the term of court. 
If there are criminal cases to be tried, the first eighteen men 
drawn out of the box constitute the grand jury; the others 
are the regular petit jury for the trial of both criminal and 
civil cases. 

The drawing out of division No. 1, and the depositing in 
division No. 2, is continued from time to time 'for each suc- 
ceeding term of the court until the scrolls are all in division 
No. 2. They are then replaced in division No. 1 and the draw- 
ing continues as before. The county commissioners revise 
the jury list from time to time; as persons qualified for jury 
duty die or become otherwise disqualified, other persons who 
have become qualified are added to the list. 

Twelve persons are necessary to constitute a jury for the 
trial of all cases, though a less number is sometimes allowed 
by consent. 

149. Trial by Referee.— The judge of the superior court 
may designate some person to try certain cases, but not so 
as to preclude the parties from their right to jury trial. The 
person so designated is called a referee, who becomes for the 
purposes of his special duty an officer of the court. The 
referee makes to the court a report of his findings and conclu- 
sions, and when that report is passed upon by the judge, so 
much of it as he adopts or approves becomes the findings of 
the court, both in law and in fact. 

A referee may be appointed by the consent of the parties to 
the suit; and he may be given by their consent power to finally 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 111 

settle and determine both the law and the facts in contro- 
versy — in which case he would be better styled an ' arbitra- 
tor/ 

150. Officers. — The Solicitor is a lawyer elected by the peo- 
ple of each judicial district for a term of four years. His prin- 
cipal duties are to draw up or frame bills of indictment against 
persons accused of crime and to prosecute them on behalf of 
the state upon indictments found. 

The duties of the clerk of the court and of the sheriff are 
described in §185 and §186. 

OTHER COURTS 

151. Inferior Courts. — The constitution gives to the general 
assembly power to establish other 2 courts inferior to the 
supreme and superior courts, and to allot and distribute to 
them such powers andjurisdiction, within constitutional limits, 
as it sees fit. From the decision of these inferior courts the 
legislature has power to provide a proper system of appeals. 

3 "The presiding officers and clerks thereof shall be elected 
in such manner as the general assembly may from time to time 
prescribe and they shall hold their offices for a term not exceed- 
ing eight years. " 

152. Special Courts. — The constitution also requires the 
general assembly "to provide for the establishment of 4 special 
courts for the trial of misdemeanors in cities and towns where 
the same may be necessary." 

Such courts are the mayors of cities and incorporated towns. 
Their election or appointment is usually provided for in the 
charters of incorporation — the acts of the general assembly 



112 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

prescribing how particular towns and cities shall be governed. 
The jurisdiction of these special courts — also called in the 
law inferior courts — is usually set forth in the charters. An 
amendment of 1917 declares that "The general assembly shall 
not pass any local, private or special act or resolution relat- 
ing to the establishment of courts inferior to the superior 
courts." That is, the legislature cannot pass a private act 
establishing a particular court in a certain locality ; all courts 
must belong to a certain class and have the powers of their 
class. 

The general law gives the mayors of cities and incorporated 
towns the jurisdiction of justices of the peace in all criminal 
matters arising under state laws or under the ordinances of 
the cities or towns. 

153- Justices of the Peace — x Justices of the peace, in 
their respective counties, try (1) that class of civil actions 
which involve demands for small debts and property of little 
value, and (2) that class of criminal actions, called petty 
misdemeanors, which involve slight punishment. Besides, 
they try all cases of contract, or promise to pay money, in 
which the sum involved does not exceed two hundred dollars ; 
and they may try other civil actions where the amount of 
money or property in controversy does not exceed fifty dol- 
lars. When these causes are for damages, they are called torts 
— that is, wrongs. 

Justices also try criminal cases within their counties which 
do not carry a punishment exceeding a fine of fifty dollars 
or imprisonment for thirty days. 

154. Justice's Power to Cause Arrest. — The justice of the 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 113 

peace may cause arrest and imprisonment for offenses which 
he cannot try. When a serious crime has been committed, 
he issues a warrant and the sheriff, constable, or other officer 
arrests the accused person. If, after a preliminary hearing, 
the justice finds the prisoner's guilt a matter of doubt, he 
commits him to jail unless the prisoner can give written 
security for his appearance in a court which has jurisdiction 
of the offense. 

THE CORPOKATION COMMISSION" 

I 55« Organization. — Superadded to our system of courts 
is the corporation commission, created by an act of the gen- 
eral assembly, which provides that it shall be a court of 
record. This commission, or court, consists of three com- 
missioners, elected by the qualified voters of the state in the 
same manner as other state officers. The term of office is 
six years. 

The court organizes by electing one of the commissioners 
chairman. It appoints a clerk, who must be an expert account- 
ant and experienced in transportation rates and statistics. 
Commissioners and clerk are forbidden to hold stock or have 
any pecuniary interest in corporations under the supervision 
of the commission, except that the clerk may hold stock in 
banks. 

156. Supervisory Powers. — The corporation commission 
has general control and supervision of railroad, street rail- 
way, steamboat, canal, express, and sleeping car companies; 
of all companies engaged in the carrying of freight or pas- 
sengers; of all telegraph and telephone companies; of all 



114 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

public and private banks, except national banks ; of all loan 
and trust companies doing business in the state, and of all 
electric light, power, water and gas companies. The commis- 
sion receives reports from all the corporations doing business 
in the state giving information as to their officers and directors 
and the character of their business. 

157. Power to Make Rates and Regulations. — The cor- 
poration commission is authorized to make the freight, pas- 
senger and express rates for railroads, street railways, steam- 
boat, canal and express companies, and all other companies 
engaged in carrying freight or passengers, as well as for 
telegraph and telephone companies. 

It also has authority to make regulations designed to pre- 
vent the paying and receiving of rebates or bonusus, directly 
or indirectly, and to prevent the deception of the public as to 
the real freight and passenger rates charged. The commis- 
sion makes rules in regard to the handling of freight, and it 
may require the building of depots. 

The commission adopts regulations applying to the cor- 
porations under its supervision for promoting the safety, 
health and comfort of the public. It has the power to carry 
into effect the laws of the state dealing with corporations 
and the rules and regulations it may deem proper to adopt. 

158. Powers in Regard to Taxation. — The corporation 
commission is also the state tax commission, exercising a 
general supervision of all the assessors and other tax officials 
of North Carolina. It sends to the counties blank forms to 
be used in assessing and listing property, and has the power 
to make recommendations and corrections in matters of 
taxation. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 115 

159. Supervision of Banks. — The commission has super- 
vision over the private and savings banks and all banks char- 
tered by the state. The commission appoints bank examiners, 
whose duty is to examine the banks chartered under the 
state laws and report on their condition to the commission. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Who is the chief justice of North Carolina? 

2. What is the number of your judicial district? 

3. What territory does it include? 

4. When and by whom was the last term of the superior court held in 

your county? 

5. Give an example of a civil action; of a criminal action. 

6. Did the last grand jury in your county find any true bills of indict- 

ment? If so, mention one case. 

7. What is the name of the solicitor for your district ? 

8. Who is chairman of the corporation commission? 

9. Give the arguments in favor of a long term for judges. Should they 

be elected by the people or appointed by the governor? 

10. Name a special court. Name another kind of inferior court. 

11. How does the corporation commission differ from an ordinary court? 



CHAPTER VIII 
AIDS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

1 60. Right to Education. — "'The people have the right to 
the privilege of education and it is the duty of the state to 
guard and maintain that right.' ' 2 " Religion, morality and 
knowledge being necessary to good government and the happi- 
ness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall 
forever be encouraged." 

The general assembly is required to provide by taxation 
and otherwise for a system of public schools, in which tuition 
must be free to all the children from six to twenty-one years 
of age. 

161. State Board of Education. — The members of the state 
board of education are the governor, lieutenant governor, 
secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of public 
instruction, and the attorney-general. The governor is the 
president, the superintendent of public instruction is secretary, 
and the treasurer of the state is treasurer of the board. The 
board is authorized to loan the literary fund to the county 
boards of education to build schoolhouses ; it also selects text- 
books for use in the public schools of the state. It has the 
power to make all necessary rules and regulations for the 
government of the schools and the management of the state 

educational fund. 

[116] 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 117 

162. Superintendent of Public Instruction. — The state super- 
intendent of public instruction is elected for a term of four 
years. It is his duty to direct the work of the school system 
and to enforce the school law. All other school officers act 
under his instructions. 

163. County Board of Education. — The county board of 
education is appointed by the general assembly. It is com- 
posed of three men in each county. Boards divide the town- 
ships into school districts, have charge of the building of all 
new schoolhouses, and with the county superintendent make 
rules for the management of the schools. They may also 
provide for teachers' institutes. 

164. County Superintendent. — The county superintendent 
of public instruction is elected by the county board of educa- 
tion. He must be a man of liberal education and must have 
had at least two years' experience in teaching school. He 
must keep the books of the county board of education, hold 
township teachers' meetings, examine teachers, and visit the 
schools. 

165. School Committee. — The school committee is appointed 
by the county board of education. Members of the school 
committee, as well as members of the county board of educa- 
tion, must be men of good business qualifications and known 
to be in favor of public education. It is the duty of the com- 
mittee to employ teachers, to control school property, and 

( to take the school census. 

166. Teachers. — Teachers are required to keep a record of 
the pupils, to maintain good order and discipline in their 
schools, to encourage morality, industry, and neatness in all 



118 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

their pupils, and to teach thoroughly all branches which they 
are required to teach. 

167. Special Tax. — A special tax may be voted to add to the 
public school fund of any district, and a special tax may be 
voted for township high schools. 

168. Rural Libraries. — The state and the county each con- 
tribute one-third the cost of a library for a public school, the 
other third being raised by private subscription. 

Every librarian is required by law annually to send to the 
state superintendent of public instruction such reports as the 
superintendent may require. Among the items that must 
be reported are a list of the books on hand, the title and author 
of every book lost during the year, the number of volumes 
taken out, and the names of three children of school age who 
have shown the greatest interest in the library and the great- 
est improvement from its use. 

169. North Carolina Day. — The law provides that October 
12th (unless some other day be selected by the state super- 
intendent of public instruction) shall be set apart in each 
school session for the consideration, with appropriate exer- 
cises, of some topic relating to the history of North Carolina. 
This day in the public schools is known as " North Carolina 
Day." 

170. Increased Facilities. — It is the policy of those in con- 
trol of our educational system to consolidate school districts 
wherever practicable, to erect larger and better schoolhouses, 
and to encourage all efforts to adorn and beautify the build- 
ings and grounds. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 119 

STATE INSTITUTIONS 

171. The University — The University of North Carolina 
is located at Chapel Hill in Orange County. It is governed 
by a board of eighty trustees elected by the general assembly. 
The trustees elect the president and faculty and make general 
rules for the government of the institution. In the trustees 
are vested all the rights, privileges, franchises, and property 
of the University. The governor is ex officio chairman of the 
board of trustees. The University is maintained by appro- 
priations from the general assembly, by endowments and 
bequests of individuals, by tuition fees of students and by es- 
cheats — the- reversion of land to the state when there is no 
person who can inherit it. This institution was established 
by an act of the general assembly passed in 1789. 

172. The State College of Agriculture and Engineering. — 

This college is located at Raleigh. Its main purpose is 
to give young men practical training in the industrial 
arts and sciences. It is governed by a board of trustees 
consisting of sixteen members. They are appointed by the 
governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Their 
powers are similar to the powers of the trustee* of the 
University. The college is maintained by appropriations 
from the state and from the United States and by tuition fees 
of students. It was established by an act of the legislature 
passed in 1887. The Agricultural Experiment and Control 
Station is connected with the college. 

173. The State Normal and Industrial College The State 

NormaPand Industrial College is located at Greensboro. The 



120 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

objects of this institution are "to give young women such 
education as shall fit them for teaching ; and to give instruc- 
tion to young women in drawing, telegraphy, typewriting, 
stenography, and such other industrial arts as may be suitable 
to their sex and conducive to their support and usefulness." 
It is governed by a board of eleven directors, one of whom 
is the state superintendent of public instruction, who is also 
the president of the board. This board is appointed by the 
state board of education and confirmed by the senate. It has 
all the powers usually conferred upon such bodies. The insti- 
tution is supported by appropriations from the general assem- 
bly, by endowments and bequests, and by tuition fees of 
students. It was established in 1891. 

174. Other Educational Institutions. — The Appalachian 
Training School, located at Boone, and the Cullowhee Nor- 
mal School, located at Cullowhee, receive aid from the state 
for the training of teachers. 

The East Carolina Teachers' Training School at Green- 
ville, is another institution for training teachers. The state 
board of education appoints the board of trustees, of which 
the state superintendent is ex officio chairman. The Negro 
Agricultural and Technical College is situated at Greens- 
boro; the object of this school is to teach agriculture and the 
mechanic arts. The state has also provided for the training 
of teachers for the colored race and for the Croatan Indians. 

Other state schools are the Caswell Training School for 
the feeble-minded, at Kinston, and the Stonewall Jackson 
Manual Training School, at Concord, which is a reform 
school. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 121 

— . 

175. Charitable Institutions — The state provides for the 
care of the insane in hospitals at Morganton, Raleigh, and 
Goldsboro, the last being for colored patients. These insti- 
tutions are governed by boards of trustees. 

The State School for the Deaf is at Morganton. The board 
of trustees by which the institution is governed provides for 
the instruction of the pupils in the branches of study pre- 
scribed by law for the public schools of the state, and in sucb 
other branches as may be of special benefit to the deaf and 
dumb. 

The State School for the Blind is located at Ealeigh and is 
under the control of a board of trustees, which also* controls 
a school located at Ealeigh for the education of the colored 
deaf, dumb, and blind. 

The North Carolina Sanatorium for the treatment of 
tuberculosis is situated at Montrose. 

176. State's Prison. — The state's prison, often called the 
penitentiary, located at Ealeigh, is controlled by a board of 
directors consisting of a chairman and four other members, 
appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. To 
it are sent for confinement those convicted of felony and not 
retained and punished in the counties. 

MUNICIPAL COEPOEATIONS 

177. Corporation Defined. — A corporation, speaking gen- 
erally, is an organization created by law out of the individuals 
composing it, which continues the same notwithstanding the 
changes of its membership, and possesses only such rights 
and privileges as the law confers. The authority by whicb 
it operates is called its charter or charter of incorporation. 
(§115). 



122 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The continuance of membership — new members being 
added to replace those who resign or die — is called the power 
of perpetual succession. Provided that the charter is regu- 
larly renewed when it expires, the corporaticm continues to 
exist regardless of the loss of old members and their replace- 
ment by new ones. 

178. Municipal Corporation a Division of the State. — 
A municipal corporation is a division of the state, with its 
people, incorporated for purposes of government. These 
divisions are counties, cities, towns, and incorporated villages. 

179. Power to Make Debts and Collect Taxes. — An 
amendment of 1917 to the constitution states: 1 "It shall be 
the duty of the legislature to provide by general laws for the 
organization of cities, towns, and incorporated villages, and 
to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing 
money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, so as to 
prevent abuses in assessment and in contracting debts by such 
municipal corporations." 

By this amendment, the general assembly is required to 
legislate in regard to the government of municipal corpora- 
tions and their powers of taxation by general laws instead 
of special acts for particular corporations. The authority 
granted the legislature to restrict the taxing and borrowing 
powers of municipal corporations is intended to prevent 
abuses. 

The constitution further 2 forbids municipal corporations 
to make loans, or levy taxes for expenses concerned with the 
loan, unless by the vote of the citizens. And it provides : 

3 "A11 taxes levied by any county, city, town, or township 
shall be uniform and ad valorem upon all property in the 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 123 

same except property exempted by the constitution." Ad 
valorem means according to value; ad valorem taxes are 
estimated at a certain per cent, on the valuation of the 
property. 

180. Poll Tax — *The capitation or "poll tax," as it is 
commonly called, is the tax paid by the male inhabitants of 
the state between the ages of twenty-one and fifty years who 
are not exempt on account of poverty or infirmity. This tax 
for ordinary state and county purposes cannot exceed two 
dollars per head ; but incorporated towns and villages aue not 
so limited. By virtue of the authority of their charters, 
they often levy a poll tax of much more than two dollars on 
the individual. Nor do their charters always require them 
to observe the rule called "the equation of poll and property," 
which must be followed in the levy of state and county taxes. 
2 Under this rule, a poll tax for state or county purposes on 
each individual is equal to the tax on property valued at 
three hundred dollars. 

181. Government of Cities, Towns, and Incorporated Vil- 
lages. — The manner in which cities, towns, and incorporated 
villages are governed is prescribed in charters granted by the 
legislature. The charter of a city, town, or village usually 
provides for a mayor and a board of aldermen, also called a 
board of commissioners, to be elected by the qualified voters 
thereof. Sometimes, however, the people elect only the alder- 
men, and these in turn elect the mayor. 

The mayor and aldermen constitute the governing body of 
the municipality and they usually elect or appoint the other 
municipal officers, fix their salaries, and prescribe their duties 
so far as the charters and other laws allow. They also 



124 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

supervise and sometimes control the official conduct of these 
officers, though the mayor often has this power. Within cer- 
tain limits prescribed by law, the city government enacts 
regulations to promote health, morality, safety and cleanli- 
ness; these are called city or town ordinances, and small 
penalties are prescribed for their violation. A new and 
popular form of municipal government is the city commis- 
sion. In this, the governing body consists of three or more 
commissioners with large powers; sometimes administration 
is centered in one man, who is called the city manager. In 
such cases there is a city council, but its work is purely legis- 
lative. The city manager has full control of all the depart- 
ments of government. 

182. Counties as Corporate Bodies. — Every county is a 
corporate body, having the powers prescribed by statute and 
implied by law; these are exercised by a board of commis- 
sioners. 

183. Board of County Commissioners. — The county com- 
missioners are elected by the qualified voters of their respec- 
tive counties, with the exception of Montgomery county, 
where justices of the peace elect them. The commissioners, 
who are in some cases three and in others five in number, 
meet at the courthouses of their counties to carry out their 
duties. The board of county commissioners has the power to 
(1) divide the county into townships; (2) levy county taxes 
and grant certain exemptions from the poll tax; (3) provide 
by taxation for the maintenance of the poor; (4) approve 
the bonds given by county officers as security; (5) con- 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 125 

struct and repair bridges and to order the laying out, altera- 
tion, or discontinuance of highways; (6) provide for the 
erection of houses of correction (workhouses), where vagrants 
and persons guilty of misdemeanors may be restrained and use- 
fully employed. 

184. Register of Deeds. — The clerk of the board of county 
commissioners is the register of deeds. This officer is elected 
by the people of the county every two years. He appoints 
his deputies. 

In his office are recorded all deeds, mortgages, leases, con- 
tracts, and other papers affecting the title to real or personal 
property which are authorized or required by law to be re- 
corded. He is required by law to keep an index of these 
instruments, and his records and index are open to the pub- 
lic. When a mortgage, or other contract securing money, is 
paid, it is cancelled or marked satisfied on the record by the 
person to whom the money is paid; the register of deeds or 
his deputy is also authorized upon proper evidence of pay- 
ment to make such cancellation. 

The register of deeds is the officer who issues marriage 
licenses. These are required by law to be returned to his office 
by the officiating clergyman, or other person who performs the 
ceremony, within two months thereafter. They are then 
entered upon a marriage register and filed among the records 
of the office. 

In connection with his duties as clerk to the board of com- 
missioners of his county, the register of deeds certifies to the 
sheriff a list of the jurymen drawn for the next ensuing term 
of court (§148). 



126 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The taxes of the county are computed by the register of 
deeds; the books are then turned over to the sheriff, who 
collects them upon the register's computation. 

185. Clerk of the Superior Court. — Another very important 
county officer is the clerk of the superior court. He is elected 
by the qualified voters of his county and holds his office for 
four years. 

Among his duties may be mentioned the following: he 
issues the summonses to start civil actions; keeps records of 
the court proceedings, appoints guardians, executors, admin- 
istrators, and supervises them in the performance of the 
duties that they are required to perform. He acts for the 
court, and indeed, except when the judge is present at a term, 
he is for many purposes the court. His duties are too com- 
plex and numerous to be mentioned in detail. 

186. The Sheriff. — The sheriff is also a county officer and 
is elected by the qualified voters of his county. He is the exec- 
utive arm of the court, and as such makes arrests, keeps 
prisoners, and serves warrants, summonses, and other papers 
issued by the court. He is also the tax collector of his county 
of all state and county taxes, though the legislature may 
require this duty to be performed by some other officer. 

He appoints his deputies, who also make arrests and serve 
papers. He often appoints as deputy in a particular town- 
ship the person who has been elected constable by the people 
thereof. The ordinary duties of a constable are to serve war- 
rants and other papers issued by a justice of the peace. 

The sheriff gives a bond for the faithful performance of his 
duties as a court officer, and another bond for the faithful 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 127 

performance of his duties as tax collector and to secure the 
safe-keeping of the funds in his hands as such. He is ex officio 
the county treasurer in those counties which have no such 
officer. 

187. The Treasurer. — The county treasurer is an officer whose 
duty it is to keep and receive all moneys belonging to the 
county, and all other moneys by law directed to be paid to 
him. He pays out money for the county and renders an 
account of the same as may be required by law. Like the 
sheriff and other county officers he gives a bond to secure the 
faithful performance of his duties. 

188. The Coroner. — The coroner is elected by the people, 
and holds his office for two years. It is his duty to inquire 
into the cause of death of those who die under suspicious 
circumstances. He may summon a jury to aid him in such 
investigation. 

CORPORATIONS OTHER THAN MUNICIPAL 

189. Quasi-Public Corporations. — There is a class of cor- 
porations called " quasi-public/ ' such as railroad, telegraph 
and telephone companies. While organized primarily for 
private purposes, these corporations have undertaken the 
business of serving the people, and have on this account been 
granted some powers which are ordinarily exercised by the 
government alone. 

One of the powers granted to such corporations is the right 
of eminent domain — the power to take and use private pro- 
perty for public purposes. In the manner allowed by law 
they may condemn land belonging to a person, upon proper 



128 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

compensation to him, and operate on or over it railroads and 
telegraph and telephone lines. On account of the exercise of 
this governmental function, the government regulates and 
inspects their methods of doing business and prescribes the 
rates, fares, and tariffs which they may charge to the people 
they serve. 

190. Private Corporations. — As public corporations are 
created for purposes of government, so private corporations 
are created for private purposes, such as to carry on some 
manufacture, trade, or business. An amendment of 1917 to 
the constitution states : 

"No corporation shall be created nor shall its charter be 
extended, altered or amended by special act, except corpora- 
tions for charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory pur- 
poses that are to be and remain under the patronage and 
control of the state; but the general assembly shall provide 
by general laws for the chartering and organization of all 
corporations and for amending, extending, and forfeiture of 
all charters, except those above permitted by special act. 
All such general laws and special acts may be altered from 
time to time or repealed ; and the general assembly may at 
any time by special act repeal the charter of any corporation." 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Mention some of the advantages to a state of an educated people. 

2. Why should civil government be studied in the schools? 

3. Who is superintendent of public schools in your county (city) ? 

4. Give the names of the members of the board of education in your 

county (city). 

5. Mention some of the advantages of rural libraries. 

6. What exercises would you consider appropriate for celebrating 

"North Carolina Day?" 



CHAPTER IX 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE 

191. The Two Houses of Congress. — Congress is the legis- 
lative body of the United States government. It is composed 
of two branches, a 2 senate and a house of representatives. 
The latter is usually called "the house/' though both bodies 
are often alluded to as "the two houses." Congress is 
required to 3 meet every year on the first Monday in December ; 
and it may be Convened or called together by the president 
upon extraordinary occasions at times fixed by him. Such 
meetings are called special sessions. 

192. Term. — The term of office of all its members begins on 
the 4th of March. At this date also begins the term of a Con- 
gress and continues two years, when it is said to expire. The 
term of the first Congress elected under the constitution of the 
United States was authorized to begin on that day in 1789 ; so 
all the succeeding terms have begun in the odd-numbered 
years. In such years also falls the first or long session of each 
Congress, which begins on the first Monday in December and 
may continue till the same day in the next year. The second 
or short session must end the 4th of March following, for that 
is the end of the congressional term, and the session cannot 
continue after the term has expired. 

[129] 



130 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

193. The Senate — "The "senate of the United States shall 
be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the 
legislature thereof for six years." This is the original pro- 
vision of the constitution for the election of senators. The 
constitution further directed that when the first United States 
senators were elected, they should be arranged in three 
2 classes (as nearly as possible equal in number) — the term 
of one class expiring in two years; the term of the second 
class in four years, and the term of the third class in six 
years. In admitting a new state into the Union, its first 
senators are placed in one or another of these classes, so as 
to keep the three divisions as nearly equal as possible. Those 
subsequently elected hold office for the full senatorial term 
of six years. 

By this arrangement into classes, the term of one^-third of 
the senators begins and the term of one-third 3 expires every 
two years. This, together with the biennial expiration of the 
terms of representatives, fixes the end of a term of Congress. 

194. Election of Senators. — The constitution has given to 
the states the power to prescribe "the 4 times, places, and man- 
ner of holding elections for senators and representatives;" 
but 5 Congress may make or alter such regulations except as 
to the place of choosing senators, which is entirely under the 
control of the states. The seventeenth Amendment to the con- 
stitution, adopted in 1913, has changed the mode of electing 
senators. The senate is still composed of two senators from 
each state; but senators are now "elected by the people 
thereof, for six years ; and each senator shall have one vote. 
The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requi- 
site for electors of the most numerous branch of the state 
legislature." 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 131 

The election of the United . States senators by the direct 
vote of the people came as the result of an agitation lasting 
many years. It was more and more felt by the body of the 
American people that the selection of the upper house of 
Congress, as well as the lower, should be left to the popular 
will instead of to the legislatures, as formerly. Finally, in 
1913, a sufficient number of states approved the amendment 
and it became law. 

195. Qualifications of Senators. — 1(c So person shall be a 
senator who shall not have attained the age of thirty years, 
and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for 
which he shall be chosen." 

196. House of Representatives. — 2 "The house of represen- 
tatives shall be composed of members chosen every second 
year by the people of the several states." After each 3 census, 
which is taken every ten years, the number of representatives 
to which each state is entitled is fixed by Congress. The state 
is then divided by its legislature into districts to correspond 
with the number of its Representatives. ^Representatives 
shall be apportioned among the several states according to 
their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- 
sons in the state, excluding Indians not taxed." The greater 
the population of a state the greater the number of its rep- 
resentatives ; but each state is entitled to 6 one representative 
no matter how small its population. The contrast between 
representation in the 'Senate and in the house of representa- 
tives is sometimes striking. A state may have two senators 
and one representative, while New York has two senators 
and more than forty representatives. 



132 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

As Congress Admits new states into the Union, within the 
limits allowed by the constitution, it usually requires the pop- 
ulation of the state to be as great as that of a congressional 
district. This rule, however, has not always been adhered 
to. Some states have been admitted before their population 
reached the required number. Utah, for special reasons, was 
not admitted until its population considerably exceeded it. 

197. Election of Representatives. — According to the provis- 
ions of the constitution, Congress has prescribed Regulations 
concerning the election of representatives. 

The time for their election is Tuesday after the first Monday 
in November every second year. All votes are on written or 
printed ballots. Each district is entitled to one representa- 
tive, and is composed of compact and contiguous territory. 
Every district contains as near as practicable the same num- 
ber of inhabitants. When an additional member is allotted 
to a state by reason of its increase of population as ascertained 
by the census, he is elected from the state at large, — that is, 
is voted for by the people of the whole state — until the legis- 
lature thereof makes the number of districts equal to the num- 
ber of representatives apportioned to the state. 

198. Qualifications of Representatives. — 3 "No person shall 
be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of 
twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
that state in which he shall be chosen/' 

199. Rule of Apportionment. — In 1911 Congress enacted 
that 4 "after the 3d day of March, 1913, the house of represen- 
tatives shall be composed of four hundred and thirty-three 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 133 

■ "^—^^^ ^~ ^— — — — — — — — — ■— — 

members to be apportioned among the several states as fol- 
lows :" and this number, since the admission of Arizona and 
New Mexico as states, has been increased to 435. The act 
also designates opposite the name of each state the number of 
representatives to which each state is entitled; for example: 
Alabama .... 10 Louisiana .... 8 North Carolina. ... 10 

The manner in which Congress makes this apportionment 
of representatives among the several states is an interesting 
though simple process. After each census it passes an act, 
similar to the one above quoted, fixing the number of repre- 
sentatives that shall constitute the house. Before passing 
this act, it divides the population of the United States (ex- 
cluding the Indians not taxed) by the number of members it 
has determined shall constitute the house. The number de- 
termined after the census of 1910 was four hundred and 
thirty-three. This division ascertains what is known as the 
ratio of representation, which under the apportionment of 
1911 was 212,407. Dividing the population of each state by 
this number gives the number of representatives to which 
that state is entitled. 

200. Delegates from the Territories. — The territories of 
the United States are entitled each to one delegate in Con- 
gress. Delegates may speak in debate, and are entitled to the 
privileges of the floor ; but they cannot vote. Their compen- 
sation is the same as that of the representatives. 

201. Election. — "'Each house shall be the judge of the 
election, returns, and qualifications of its own members." 

Returns are the statements or reports of the balloting at an 
election made out by the proper officers. 



134 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

202. Presiding Officers. — The house of representatives 
elects its own presiding officer. He is Called the Speaker. 
The presiding officer of the senate is the Vice-president of the 
United States. In case of his 3 absence or inability to serve, 
the senate elects a presiding officer known as the president 
pro tempore. 

203. Compensations of Members. — Congress has fixed the 
compensation of its members at $7,500 a year and mileage. 
Each member has the assistance of a clerk, whose salary is 
paid by the government. 

204. Privileges of Members. — Members of Congress are priv- 
ileged from arrest (except for treason, felony, or breach of 
the peace) while they are in attendance upon its sessions or 
going to and from the same. Members of Congress cannot be 
sued in the courts for anything they may say in speech or 
debate about other people, even though their utterances be 
false and malicious. The constitution requires that there 
should be the utmost freedom of speech in matters of such 
vital importance to the people. 

205. Methods of Business. — In regard to the manner in 
which Congress transacts the business of making laws, it is 
sufficient to quote the words of the constitution: 

4 " All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of 
representatives but the senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills." 

5 " Every bill which shall have passed the house of represen- 
tatives and the senate shall, before it becomes a law, be pre- 
sented to the president of the United States; if he approve, he 
shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it with his objection to 
that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 135 

objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider 
it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that house 
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be 
reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, 
it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall 
not be returned by the president within ten days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same 
shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which 
case it shall not be a law." 

*" Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concur- 
rence of the senate and house of representatives may be nec- 
essary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be present- 
ed to the president of the United States; and before the same 
shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disap- 
proved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the senate 
and house of representatives, according to the rules and limi- 
tations prescribed in the case of a bill." 

206. Rules of Procedure. — 2 "Each house may determine the 
rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a 
member." 

207. Impeachment. — s "The senate shall have the sole power 
to try all impeachments;" but "no person shall be convicted 
without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members pre- 
sent." 



13G CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



The house of representatives shall have the 1 sole power of 
impeachment. When the house makes charges against any 
officer of the United States government subject to impeach- 
ment — and such officers are all civil officers of the United 
States except members of Congress — the 2 senate sits as a 
court of justice and decides and renders judgment upon the 
guilt or innocence of the officer charged or impeached by 
the house. 

8 "Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend fur- 
ther than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold 
and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 
States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable 
and subject to- indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment 
according to law." 

208. Vacancies. — Vacancies in the 4 senate were formerly 
filled by appointment of the governor until the next meeting 
of the legislature. The seventeenth amendment provides that 
"When vacancies happen in the representation of any state 
in the senate, the executive authority of each state shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided that the 
legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to 
make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacan- 
cies by election as the legislature may direct." 

In accordance with this provision, the North Carolina 
legislature passed an act giving the governor the power to 
fill vacancies in the senate until an election can be held. 

In the case of vacancies in the 5 house of representatives, 
the governor issues writs for an election to fill the vacancy. 
The candidate elected holds office until the next regular elec- 
tion for members of the house of representatives. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 137 



POWERS AND RESTRICTIONS 

209. Powers. — The Congress shall have power: 

*"To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to 
pay the debts and provide for the common defence and gen- 
eral welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and 
excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. 

2 "To borrow money on the credit of the United States/' 

3 "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several states, and with the Indian tribes/ ' 

4 "To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uni- 
form laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the 
United States." 

5 "To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign 
coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures." 

6 "To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securi- 
ties and current coin of the United States." 

7 "To establish post offices and post roads." 

8 "To promote the progress of science and useful arts by 
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclu- 
sive right to their respective writings and discoveries." 

°"To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court." 

10 "To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas and offenses against the law of nations." 

1V To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water." 

12 "To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years." 

13 "To provide and maintain a navy." 



138 * CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

*"To make rules for the government and regulation of the 
land and naval forces.' ' 

2 "To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel invasions." 

8 "To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employ- 
ed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states 
respectively the appointment of the officers and the authori- 
ty of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed 
by Congress." 

4 "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, 
by cession of particular states and the acceptance of Congress, 
become the seat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the con- 
sent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, 
for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings.' ' 

11 5 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other 
powers vested by this constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof." 

210. Restrictions. — 6 "The privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion 
or invasion the public safety may require it." (§310). 

7 "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." 
8 "No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed 
to be taken," 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 139 

*"No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from 
any state." 

2 "No preference shall be given by any regulation of com- 
merce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another ; 
nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pay duties in another." 

^'No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in con- 
sequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular state- 
ment and account of the receipts and expenditures of all 
public money shall be published from time to time." 

4 "No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; 
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them 
shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, 
emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign state." 

TERMS AND PHRASES DEFINED AND EXPLAINED 

211. Taxes. — The power to collect taxes is incidental to all 
governments; but to avoid confusion and conflicts when there 
are two governments, the taxation of each is properly confined 
to different subjects. Though the federal courts hold that 
the general government can withdraw property from state 
taxation, and devote it exclusively to federal taxes, in prac- 
tice this power is little exercised. 

The United States collects taxes from whiskey and other 
alcoholic liquors and from tobacco; these taxes are called 
excise, or internal revenue. It also collects taxes on articles 
imported or brought into this country from foreign countries; 
these taxes are called duties or imposts. A schedule or sys- 



140 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

tern of duties imposed by the government on imports is called 
a tariff. 

Duties and imposts are required to be uniform throughout 
the United States, — that is, the same duty on the same 
article must be levied in all ports, and no preference in favor 
of the ports of one state shall be given over those of another. 
Vessels bound to or from one state shall not be obliged to 
pay duties in another. 

Under the terms of the constitution, the states do not lay 
imposts or duties on imports, though Congress may empower 
them to do this if it so chooses. Both the states and the 
United States are forbidden to lay export duties on articles 
shipped from any state. 

The sixteenth amendment to the federal constitution, 
adopted in 1913, gives Congress the power to tax all incomes 
without regard to apportionment among the states according 
to population. This amendment has greatly increased the 
taxing power of the federal government. In 1915 Congress 
passed the "War Tax/' temporarily placing internal revenue 
duties on many articles. 

The states tax real and personal property; that is, every- 
thing not withdrawn by federal authority for its own 
taxation. 

212. Interstate Commerce. — Congress regulates traffic be- 
tween the states, which is called "interstate commerce." It 
includes the control of business transactions reaching from 
one state into another, such as the business carried on by 
railroads and telegraph and telephone lines operating in two 
or more states. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 141 

213. Copyrights and Patents. — Congress makes copyright 
laws protecting the authors of books and patent laws pro- 
tecting inventors. Both authors and inventors are allowed 
a monopoly of their productions for a limited period. 

214. Letters of Marque and Reprisal. — As Congress alone 
has the power to declare war, it exclusively exercises the 
power to grant letters of marque and reprisal. Such letters 
authorize a private individual to take the property of a 
foreign state or of its citizens or subjects in reparation for 
injury committed by such state, its citizens, or its subjects. 
In time of war, a government sometimes authorizes a private 
shipowner to destroy the shipping and commerce of its ene- 
mies or of their subjects. 

215. Bill of Attainder. — A bill of attainder is a legislative 
act which condemns and inflicts punishment without a judi- 
cial trial. In other words, it deprives a person of life, prop- 
erty, or other rights of citizenship without allowing him a 
trial in the courts according to the established forms of jus- 
tice. Such a law Congress is forbidden to pass. 

By another clause in the constitution, 'attainder' (even 
though one has been properly tried and convicted) is not 
allowed to la work corruption of blood or forfeiture" of prop- 
erty so as to prevent the convict's children or descendants 
from inheriting from him. Afte-r his death the property for- 
feited reverts to his heirs. 

216. Ex Post Facto Law — An ex post facto law is one 
which increases the punishment of crime after it has been 
committed, or makes an act a crime which was not a crime 
when the act was committed. Such laws are forbidden. 



142 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

217. Inferior Courts. — Many books have been written on 
the powers of Congress. The whole system of federal courts 
below the supreme court is built up by legislation under the 
power granted in the following clause (and several others of 
similar import) : "Congress shall have power to constitute 
tribunals inferior to the supreme court." Even as to the 
supreme court. Congress has power to regulate its jurisdic- 
tion over cases w T hich come to it by way of appeal from the 
lower courts, and to fix the salaries of its judges. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. What is the number of the present Congress and when will it expire? 

2. Who are the United States senators from North Carolina? When do 

their terms expire? 

3. What is the number of your congressional district? 

4. Who is your congressman? Where does he live? 

5. Who is now speaker of the national house of representatives? Who 

is president of the senate? 

6. What president was tried by impeachment, and what was the result 

of the trial? 

7. What territories applied to the sixtieth congress for admission as 

states, and with what result*? 

8. What is meant by 'protection' ? by ( i ree trade' ? by 'tariff for revenue 

only'? 

9. Mention all the kinds of United States money in circulation. 

10. About what rate of interest does the national government pay for 
the use of money? 



CHAPTER X 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



GENERAL POWERS AND STRUCTURE 

218. Executive Power. — The federal ^constitution says: 
"'The executive power shall be vested in a president of the 

United States of America.' ' 

The president is not only the chief executive of the nation, 
the head of its executive department, but he is for the purposes 
intended by the constitution the department itself. Its 
other principal officers, except the Vice-president, are appointed 
by him. He is, indeed, the great appointing power of the gov- 
ernment, though this power is usually exercised by and with 
the advice and consent of the senate. He is the great super- 
visor of all the divisions and offices of the executive depart- 
ment. He is commander-in-chief of the army and]navy2of|the 
United States. By written communications to Congress, 
called "Messages of the President/' he may inform that 
body of the state and condition of the Union and advise 
it as to needed legislation. As the chief officer ' of the 
government he deals with foreign nations and receives their 
representatives. His salary is $50,000 a year. 

219. Qualifications. — No person can become president un- 
less he is a natural-born citizen and has been for fourteen 
years a resident of the United States; nor unless he is at least 
thirty-five years of age. 

[143] 



144 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

220. Impeachment. — Like other civil officers of the gen- 
eral government, the president is liable to impeachment and 
removal from office for treason, bribery, and other high crimes 
and misdemeanors. When the president is impeached, the 
senate sitting as a court must be presided over by the chief 
justice of the United States. 

221. The Vice-President Succeeds. — In case of the removal 
from office or the death, resignation, or other inability of the 
president to discharge the powers and duties of his office, he 
is succeeded by the vice-president with the same powers, du- 
ties, and emoluments. The vice-president must have the 
same qualifications for office as the president. 

222. Presidential Electors. — The president and vice-presi- 
dent are chosen by electors. The word ' elector is often used 
merely to designate an ordinary voter, therefore, the term 
presidential electors' has been adopted to describe those officers 
whose duty it is to cast their votes for president and vice-presi- 
dent. 

The states determine the manner of choosing these electors; 
but Congress may fix the time at which they shall be elected, 
and the day on which they shall cast their votes, which day 
shall be the same throughout the United States. When they 
have cast their votes as prescribed by law, and have transmit- 
ted the same to the seat of government, their offices cease. 

The manner of choosing electors, which is practically the 
same in all the states, is by ballot of the qualified voters. The 
qualifications of the voters are fixed by the states, within cer- 
tain limitations prescribed by federal law. Some states, how- 
ever, have in the past adopted methods other than election by 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 145 

the people — their electors have been chosen by their legisla- 
tures. In Michigan two electors are chosen by the state at 
large; the others, by congressional districts. 

As the number of electors in any state must be equal to the 
whole number of its senators and representatives in Congress, 
a state gains electors as its representatives are increased with 
its increase of population. The day fixed by Congress for the 
election of electors is the Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November of every fourth year, counting from 1788, when 
Washington was elected. 

223. Meeting of Electoral College. — Congress has also by 
law directed that the electors of each state shall meet and give 
their votes for president and vice-president on the second Mon- 
day in January next following their election (or appointment) 
at such place in each state as the legislature thereof shall direct. 
The capital of the state is the place usually selected. When 
so assembled they constitute the electoral college, or college 
of electors. 

They cast their ballots for president, and then separately 
for vice-president; but if an elector votes for an inhabitant 
of his own state for either office, he cannot vote for an inhabi- 
tant of that state for the other office. His candidate for pres- 
ident and vice-president cannot both be from the state for 
which he is chosen an elector. 

224. Ascertaining Results. — When the electors cast their 
ballots, they make Hhree lists, each alike, showing the persons 
for whom they voted for president, and the persons for whom 
they votedfor vice-president, and the number of votes for each. 
These lists they sign, certify, and seal. Two of them they trans- 
mit to the seat of government of the United States, directed 



146 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

!■ ' i i i n 

to the president of the senate. One is sent by mail, and the 
other by special messenger appointed by the electors. They 
transmit the third list to the judge of the federal court of the 
district in which the electors had their meeting. He after- 
wards transmits it to the secretary of state of the United 
States. 

The sealed lists of the electoral votes sent to the president 
of the senate, who is usually the vice-president of the United 
States, are opened by him on the second Wednesday in Feb- 
ruary succeeding the election. This opening is done in the 
presence of the senate and house of representatives in joint 
session. Over this joint session, which is the only occasion on 
which the two houses meet together, the president of the sen- 
ate presides. The votes are counted by tellers previously 
appointed by the two bodies acting separately. 

The person having the highest number of votes for president 
of the United States, if such number is a majority of all the 
electors chosen, is declared to be elected to that office. 
The person having the highest number of votes for vice- 
president, if such number is a majority of all the electors 
chosen, is declared to be elected to that office. 

225. Election by the House of Representatives, — If no person 
received a majority of the votes for president, the house of 
representatives elects one from among the three persons who 
have received the highest number of votes for the office. In 
such elections the votes are taken by states, each state having 
one vote. A majority of the representatives from a state 
casts its vote, and if they are evenly divided the state loses its 
vote. A quorum of the house for the transaction of this busi- 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 147 

ness is a member or members from two-thirds of the states. If 
but one member is present, he casts the vote of his state. 

226. Election by the House Illustrated. — The election of 
Jefferson in 1801 is thus described : 

"The senate and house met in joint session, and the count 
having disclosed that there was no election by reason of the 
tie between Jefferson and Burr, the house returned to its cham- 
ber, and under rules previously adopted proceeded to vote for 
president. 

"Sixteen ballot boxes — one for each state — were provided 
and the members from each state, seated together, deposited 
their ballots in the box assigned to them, and then by tellers 
of their own counted the ballots. Two other boxes were then 
carried around to the delegations by the sergeant-at-arms, 
and in each of these a duplicate ballot, showing the choice of 
the state, was deposited. If a majority of the members from 
a state voted for the same person, the vote of the state was 
cast for him — but, if no person had a majority, duplicate bal- 
lots with the word e divided' upon them were deposited. The 
two boxes were then carried to separate tables and counted by 
tellers. If the vote in the two boxes agreed, the result was 
accepted; otherwise, a new balloting was to be taken 

"The balloting began February 11, 1801, and continued until 
February 17th, when on the thirty-sixth ballot, Jefferson was 
chosen by the votes of ten states — of which fact the president 
and the senate were at once notified. Aaron Burr became the 
vice-president by the vote of the electors — after Jefferson had 
been chosen president — and not by a vote of the senate. 

"The certificate which the senate directed its president to 
sign, after reciting that Jefferson and Burr had each received 



148 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the same number of votes, and a majority of tlie electors, and 
that Jefferson had been elected jDresident by the house of rep- 
resentatives, concluded thus: 

" 'By all of which it appears that Aaron Burr, Esq., of 
!N~ew York, is duly elected vice-president of the United States 
of America/ " 

This election took place before the adoption of the twelfth 
amendment to the constitution. At that time the person 
receiving the next highest number of electoral votes for presi- 
dent became vice-president, and so when there was a tie and 
one was elected by the house of representatives, the other 
became vice-president by law. 

227. The Cabinet. — The president is advised and aided in 
the discharge of his duties by his cabinet or cabinet officers 
as they are also called. " These are appointed by him, with 
the advice and consent of the senate, like the other princi- 
pal officers of the general government. 

The cabinet officers are: the secretary of state, secretary 
of the treasury, secretary of war, attorney-general, secretary 
of the navy, postmaster-general, secretary of the interior, 
secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce, and secre- 
tary of labor. They are the heads of the great divisions of 
the executive department and hold their offices during the 
pleasure of the president. 

Their offices were created by Congress under the authority 
of the constitution, and by the isame authority their general 
duties, which are elsewhere considered, are prescribed. 

228. Presidential Succession.— In case of the death, removal, 
or disability of both the president and the vice-president, 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 149 

the succession to the presidency devolves upon the members 
of the cabinet in the following order : secretary of state, secre- 
tary of the treasury, secretary of war, attorney-general, 
postmaster-general, secretary of the navy, secretary of the 
interior. 

229. Principal Offices — How Filled, — What may be called 
the principal or superior offices of the government, are 
regularly filled by nomination of the president and confir- 
mation of the senate. Some officers are named in the consti- 
tution; as, for example, ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and 
judges of the supreme court. Others are not so named; as, 
for example, the judges of federal courts inferior to the supreme 
court and the cabinet officers. 

The authority in the president for filling these offices is 
implied in the phrase, "He [the president] shall nominate 
and by and with the advice and consent of the senate appoint" 
not only the ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
but also "all other officers of the United States whose appoint- 
ments are not otherwise provided for" by the constitution or 
by the law. 

230. Offices Created by Congress. — Among the other offices 
created by act of Congress, and required to be filled by nomi- 
nation of the president and confirmation of the senate, may 
be named : 

First, second, and third class postmasters, collectors of cus- 
toms, judges of the district and other courts, United States 
district attorneys, directors of the mints, officers in the army 
and navy, commissioner of immigration, and governors of ter- 
ritories. The number of civil officers appointed by the presi- 
dent is now not far from eight thousand, the more important of 



150 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



which are confirmed by the senate. But the constitution says: 
"Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers, as they think proper, in the president alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments/ ' Several 
hundred thousand of such inferior officers and subordinate 
assistants, or aids in the service of government, have been 
created. 

231. Civil Service. — A very large number of these inferior 
officers are embraced in the civil service act. This act author- 
izes the president, aided by the civil service commission, to 
make rules requiring that certain appointments be made from 
among those who have stood examinations showing capacity 
and knowledge to discharge the required duties. 

THE PRESIDENT 

232. Appointments. — The president nominates or sends 
to the senate the name of a person he has selected for an 
office. The senate, usually behind closed doors in what is 
called an executive session, proceeds to consider the qualifi- 
cations of the nominee. If a majority vote in his favor, he is 
said to be confirmed, and a commission showing his appoint- 
ment is issued. If less than a majority vote for him, he stands 
rejected and the president makes another nomination. 

233. Removals. — The power of the president to appoint 
one to an office ordinarily carries with it the power to remove 
him therefrom; in the exercise of the latter power the con- 
currence of the senate is not required. 

Some officers appointed by the president cannot be removed 
even with the concurrence of the senate. Such are the judges 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 151 

of the supreme court and of the inferior federal courts. They 
are members of a coordinate branch of government and by 
special provision of the constitution, hold their offices during 
good behavior; of their behavior the president is not the judge. 
Unless they do some act or fail to perform some duty, for which 
they may be impeached, they continue in office for life. If 
impeached, they may be removed in the manner provided by 
the constitution. 

234. Recess Appointments. — If a vacancy occurs in an office 
during the Recess of the senate, the president makes a tem- 
porary appointment. Recess appointments are sent to the 
senate at its next session for confirmation or rejection. If not 
acted upon by the end of the session, the office becomes vacant, 
and another recess appointment may be made. 

235. Supervision. — A very important power is embraced 
in the phrase — 2 "he [the president] shall take care that the 
laws be faithfully executed/ ' This gives him by implication 
the power of removal or dismissal of officers when he thinks 
them inefficient or unfaithful, or when in his judgment the 
public service requires it. 

This clause gives him a supervision over all the officers of the 
government appointed by him (whether with or without the 
concurrence of the senate) except the justices of the supreme 
court and other federal judges. 

236. Commander-in-Chief — The president, as commander in 
chief and by authority of Congress, may, in order to enforce 
the laws of the nation, uphold the federal government, and 
protect the states against insurrection and invasion, call to 
his aid the army and navy of the United States. He may 



152 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



also call to his aid the militia of the states, which he likewise 
commands when called into the actual iservice of the United 
States. 

237. The Presidents Military Power. — This is restricted by 
the powers granted Congress. Congress has the power to de- 
clare war ; raise and support armies ; make rules for the gov- 
ernment of the land and naval forces ; provide for calling out 
the militia to execute the laws or in case of invasion; and 
provide for the arming and organization of the militia. 

By the JSTational Defense Act of 1916, the militia system 
has been reorganized. There is an Officers' Reserve Corps, 
which is attached to the regular army and which is composed 
of citizens who have passed the army examinations and have 
received commissions. The national guard, composed of the 
militia of the states, is much more closely supervised by the 
federal government than formerly. The United States ap- 
propriates money for arming and training the militia, and 
militiamen take the oath of allegiance to the federal govern- 
ment on enlisting. The term of service is six years — three 
in the active militia and three in the reserve. In the War of. 
1917 a conscription act was passed by Congress enforcing 
general military service. 

238. Pardoning Power — The constitution states that the 
president "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
for offenses against the United States except in cases of 
impeachment." A chief justice of the United States has 
thus defined this power : "To the executive alone is entrusted 
the power of pardon. * * * Tardon includes amnesty. 
It blots out the offense, pardons and removes all of its penal 
consequences. It may be granted on conditions." He adds 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 153 

that Congress could not change the effect of such a pardon 
any more than the president could change a law. 

A pardon cannot change the effect of or relieve against a 
judgment of impeachment. The impeachment court has the 
power to convict and cause the removal from office of the presi- 
dent himself; therefore it would not be proper for him to have 
power to resist or interfere with its judgments. 

239. Veto Power. — The Veto power may perhaps be best 
stated in the language of 2 one who has himself been president 
of the United States: 

"If the president finds such objections to the bill as to pro- 
vent him from giving it his approval, two courses are open to 
him. He may, at any time within ten days (Sundays not 
counted) from the time it was brought to him, return the bill 
to the senate or to the house — according as the bill was first 
passed by one or the other — with a message stating his objec- 
tions to it; or he may suffer the bill to lie upon his table, taking 
no action whatever upon it. If he takes no action, then the fate 
of the bill turns upon whether Congress remains in session 
during the ten days — and by this is not meant that both hous- 
es shall be in session every legislative day of the ten. If it 
does remain in session, the bill becomes a law; if it does not, 
the bill fails — does not become a law. 

"In the statutes-at-large of the United States many laws are 
found which do not have the president's signature. These are 
usually acts of small moment — relief bills or such like, which 
he could not approve, but did not deem of sufficient moment 
to be the subject of a veto message. 

"But now and then, laws of a gene al nature and of the 
highest importance appear without the president's signature. 



154 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Mr. Cleveland allowed the tariff bill of August, 1894, (known 
as the Wilson Bill) to become a law without his signature. If 
Congress adjourns before the expiration of the ten days given 
to the president for the consideration of a bill, and he does not 
sign it, but retains it without action, it fails, as has been said. 
This is called a ' pocket veto.' It will be seen, therefore, that 
as to bills presented to the president during the last ten days 
of a session of Congress, his veto is an absolute, not a qualified 
one. He has only to do nothing, and the bill fails. The object 
clearly was to secure to the president proper time for the ex- 
amination of all bills 

"When a bill is returned by the president to the house in 
which it originated, the veto message is read and the question 
is put: 'Shall the bill pass, the objections of the president to 
the contrary notwithstanding V The vote must be taken by 
yeas and nays and entered on the journals. The object of 
this is that the public may know just how each member has 
voted, and that the record shall show whether or not two-thirds 
of the members have voted for the passage of the bill. If two- 
thirds of each house of Congress are recorded in the affirmative, 
the bill becomes a law. This does not mean two-thirds of all 
the members of each house, but two-thirds of those present 
and voting — a quorum being present." 

240. Treaty-making Power. — The treaty-making power is 
thus expressed in the constitution: 

"'He [the president] shall have power, by and with the ad- 
vice and consent of the senate, to make treaties provided two- 
thirds of the senators present concur." As used here, a treaty^ 
is an agreement of the United States with a foreign govern- 
ment, The character and dignity of this kind of law is very 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 155 

high, for it has all the force of law, as may be gathered from 
the following provisions: 

la This constitution, and the laws of the United States 
which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the 
judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the 
constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwith- 
standing. ?? 

2 "No state shall enter into any treaty," etc. 

Treaties are usually considered by the senate in executive 
session. The house of representatives has no part in making 
a treaty, unless an appropriation of money is needed to carry 
it into effect. But it seems that a treaty may be Repealed 
or abrogated by act of Congress, especially if agreed to by 
two-thirds of each house. 

THE YICE-PKESIDENT 

241. Powers and Duties. — The vice-president is named in 
the constitution as the president of the senate. He takes no 
part in its debates, and has no vote unless the senate is 
equally divided. In such case he votes, or, as the phrase is, 
"casts the deciding vote." In case of his absence the senate 
elects a president pro tempore, who presides over the senate 
with the same powers and duties as the vice-president. 

The senate appoints its own committees and determines 
who shall be the chairmen. In this respect and in the control 
of debates and proceedings, the vice-president has vastly less 
power than the speaker of the house of representatives, who 
both names its committees and their chairmen. 



156 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Though named with the officers of the executive depart- 
ment, the vice-president is not properly speaking an execu- 
tive officer unless he becomes president. He is rather a mem- 
ber of the legislative branch of the government. 

THE CABINET OFFICERS 

242. The Secretary of State. — First among the cabinet offi- 
cers is the secretary of state. The foreign policy of the United 
States is directed by or through him. He formulates all trea- 
ties, issues instructions to our foreign ministers, consuls, and 
other agents of the general government looking after American 
interests in foreign countries. He presents to the president 
ambassadors and ministers from foreign countries. He issues 
passports to any of our citizens who wish to travel abroad. 
He is the custodian of the, great seal of the United States. 

243. The Secretary of the Treasury. — To this officer is en- 
trusted the duty of carrying out the financial policy of the 
government. He has charge of coining the money, which is 
done by institutions called mints, and of the printing and 
engraving of our paper money. The national banks of the 
country are under an officer of the treasury department 
known as the comptroller of the currency. 

244. The Secretary of War. — This officer has general super- 
vision of the land forces of the United States. He has charge 
also of the improvement of rivers and harbors. 

It is under his direction that the money voted by Congress 
is used for the support of the United States Military Academy 
at West Point. The purpose of this institution is to educate 
young men in the knowledge of war. Each member of 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 157 

Congress appoints one cadet, and the president appoints one 
for each territory, one for the District of Columbia, and ten 
at large. The expenses of the cadets are paid by the govern- 
ment. But no one can enter the Academy until he has 
passed an examination satisfactory both as to mind and body. 

245. The Secretary of the Navy. — This officer has general 
supervision of the naval forces of the United States — the ships 
of war and the officers, seamen, and marines. The naval Acad- 
emy at Annapolis in the state of Maryland, organized to train 
naval officers, is under his direction. 

246. The Postmaster-General. — This officer has charge of 
the postal service of the United States — the general direction of 
carrying and distributing the mail. All the vast multitude 
of officers and employees in this service are under his control. 

247. The Attorney-General. — This officer is the legal adviser 
of the president. He conducts the suits in the supreme court, 
to which the United States is a party. He may be required, 
either in person or through some of his assistants, to represent 
the United States in other federal courts. He exercises gen- 
eral supervision over district attorneys, who represent the 
United States in the inferior federal courts (§257). He also 
supervises the marshals of those courts (§257). 

248. The Secretary of the Interior. — This officer has charge 
of the home affairs of the government. The business of the 
interior department is distributed among several bureaus or 
sub-departments : 

(a) The Pension Office is in charge of the commissioner 
of pensions. This officer looks after the claims made by sol- 



158 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



diers and sailors entitled by law to pensions on account of 
service to the United States. 

(&) The Land Office is in charge of the commissioner of 
the land office. It is his duty to superintend the surveying 
and selling of the lands belonging to the United States. 

(cj The Patent Office is in charge of the commissioner 
of patents. This officer issues patents upon inventions, to secure 
to the inventor for a limited number of years the exclusive en- 
joyment of the profits of his invention. Copyrights are issued 
by the Register of Copyrights in the Library of Congress. 

(d) Indian Affairs. The commissioner of Indian affairs 
has charge of all those Indians in any of the states or terri- 
tories that still preserve their tribal relations. They live on 
what are called reservations, and are protected by laws or 
treaties. Each reservation is under the general control of 
an agent. 

(e) The Geological Survey and (f) The Bureau of 
Education are parts of the department of the interior. 

249. The Secretary of Agriculture. — This officer is the 
head of the department of agriculture. Among his duties is 
the inspection of meats and live stock exported from and im- 
ported into the country. The chief bureaus under his super- 
vision are: 

(a) The Experiment Stations,, maintained in all the 
states and territories, for the purpose of finding out the kind 
of plants and seeds best suited to the different soils and clim- 
ates, and other valuable facts and statistics relating to agri- 
culture and horticulture. The stations are in charge of scien- 
tific men who publish in bulletins and otherwise the results 
of their experiments. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 159 

(&) The Weather Bureau, maintained with stations in 
all parts of the United States and upon islands off the coast, 
where the climate and weather are carefully observed and 
studied. Daily records of conditions are made and reported 
to the central office in Washington. By means of these re- 
ports, the chief of this office predicts the state of the weather 
for the ensuing twenty-four hours ; he telegraphs his predic- 
tions to the various stations for the especial benefit of farmers 
and seamen. 

250. The Secretaries of Commerce and Labor. — The office 
of secretary of commerce and labor was established in 1903 
and has since been divided. The department of commerce 
has under its control the promotion and development of com- 
merce, mining, manufacturing, shipping and fishing. It. also 
has charge of the census bureau, which is engaged in taking 
the census and publishing the reports of the same. The secre- 
tary of labor is charged with the duty of promoting the 
interests of labor throughout the country, and this youngest 
of the departments promises to become one of the most im- 
portant. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. "Who is now president of the United States? Of what state is he a 

citizen ? > \ 

2. How many vacancies have occurred in the presidency and in what 

ways? 

3. Of what use is a passport in travelling? 

4. How many soldiers, including officers, are in the United States army? 

5. Of what use is a navy? 

6. Name several treaties that this country has made with other countries 

within the last ten years. 

7. Are any direct taxes now being levied by the United States govern- 

ment? by the state government? 



CHAPTER XI 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



STRUCTURE, POWERS, AND JURISDICTION 

251. Structure. — The federal constitution says: 

la The judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
in one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the Con- 
gress may from time to time ordain and establish. " 

All judges are appointed by the president, by and with the 
advice and consent of the senate. They hold their offices 
for life or during good behavior. While they receive for their 
services the salaries provided by law, the constitution forbids 
that the compensation of a federal judge be diminished during 
his continuance in office. This provision was probably intro- 
duced into the constitution to prevent the legislative branch 
of the government from visiting upon the courts a sort of pun- 
ishment by reducing a judge's salary on account of any judg- 
ment or decision he may have rendered contrary to the views 
of Congress. 

By act of Congress, a federal justice or judge may, at the age 
of seventy, if he has served ten years, retire and still receive ■ 
full salary for life. 

252. Judicial Power. — The judicial power of the United 
States, which is the power of the federal courts, extends to all 
civil controversies arising under the constitution and laws of 
the United States; to the treaties made or which may be made 

[160] 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 161 

under the authority of the United States; and to all cases 
affecting ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls. 

The judicial power of the federal courts extends to what is 
called their admiralty and maritime jurisdiction — jurisdiction 
over controversies arising out of navigation of the high seas 
and other public or navigable waters. These courts try cases 
involving the violation of the navigation laws. For example, 
they have jurisdiction in a case arising as a result of the colli- 
sion of two ships. 

Federal courts have jurisdiction also over crimes committed 
on the high seas and other public waters in vessels sailing under 
the protection of the United States flag. 

The jurisdiction of the federal courts further extends to con- 
troversies between two or more states; between a state and 
citizens of another state; between citizens of different states; 
between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants 
of different states; between a state and the citizens or subjects 
of a foreign state ; and between citizens of a state and citizens 
or subjects of a foreign state. 

THE SUPREME COURT 

253. Organization. — The supreme court consists of a chief 
justice and eight associate justices, any six of whom constitute 
a quorum — a sufficient number to transact its business. 

254. Original Jurisdiction. — *In all cases affecting ambassa- 
dors and other public ministers and consuls, and those in which 
a state is a party (§252), the supreme court has original juris- 
diction. 



162 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

255. Appellate Jurisdiction. — In the other cases mentioned 
in §252 the supreme court has appellate jurisdiction. It 
hears such cases under regulations prescribed by Congress. 

Appeals to the supreme court are either from the inferior 
federal courts in the states and territories or from the highest 
or supreme state courts. Appeal from the federal courts is in 
order to promote justice and uniformity in their decisions. 
Appeal from a state court is allowed only when the case in- 
volves the constitution, treaties, laws, or authority of the 
United States. Such appeals are to prevent collision between 
state and federal authority. 

INFERIOR COURTS 

256. Courts Established by Congress In carrying out 

its power to establish courts inferior to the supreme court, 
Congress has established district courts, circuit courts of ap- 
peals, a court of claims, a court of custom appeals, a com- 
merce court, courts in the territories and in the District of 
Columbia. 

257. District Courts.— The United States is divided into 
judicial districts, in each of which is established a district 
court. Sometimes a whole state constitutes a district. North 
Carolina is divided into two districts, the eastern and the 
western; other states into two or more. There are ninety- 
five districts in all. 

Each district court is presided over by a district judge. 
In each place where the court is held there is a clerk or 
deputy clerk who keeps the records and issues writs. The 
district also has a marshall, who is the executive officer of all 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 163 

the federal courts held in his district. His duties are 
similar to those of a sheriff. In criminal cases the 
United States is represented by a prosecuting officer called 
the district attorney, who also represents the general govern- 
ment in the federal courts in civil cases in which the United 
States is a party. One or more assistant district attorneys 
may be appointed to aid him. 

The jurisdiction of the district courts embraces criminal 
offenses against the United States, such as violation of the 
post-office and customs duty laws ; civil suits involving a 
certain amount of money arising under the constitution or 
laws of the United States; suits concerning national banks, 
copyrights and patents; the violation of interstate commerce 
laws; admiralty cases; proceedings in bankruptcy and the 
like. 

A bankrupt is an insolvent person — one unable to pay his 
debts. Proceedings are brought to secure a division of his 
property among the creditors. 

258. Circuit Court of Appeals. — The several states of the 
Union, or more properly speaking the federal districts in the 
states, are grouped in nine circuits, in each of which is estab- 
lished a circuit court of appeals. In the fourth circuit are 
embraced the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, 
Xorth Carolina and South Carolina. To every circuit is 
assigned a justice of the supreme court. 

Prior to 1912 there was a circuit court in each of the 
circuits, having jurisdiction much like that of the district 
courts. One class of cases tried in these courts were civil cases 
between private parties involving three thousand dollars or 



164 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



more and subject to United States law; another were felonies 
punishable by death. These cases have been transferred to 
the district courts and the circuit courts have been abolished. 

259. Jurisdiction. — The circuit court of appeals is com- 
posed of a circuit justice, the judges of the former circuit 
courts, and such district judges as may be selected by the 
justice or, in his absence, by the circuit judge. The judge 
who tried the case in the district court below cannot hear 
the appeal. 

The court of appeals has no original •jurisdiction of its 
own; it is simply an appellate court and hears all appeals 
from the district courts except in some instances where a direct 
appeal is allowed from the district court to the supreme 
court. The decisions of the court of appeals are final in 
some cases; in others appeals from it to the supreme court 
are permitted. 

260. Other Courts. — The court of claims consists of a 
chief justice and four other judges. It sits in Washington, 
holding one term a year. Its jurisdiction extends throughout 
the United States and it hears claims against the federal 
government. The United States may permit itself to be 
sued, but Congress pays judgments awarded only if it sees 
fit. The court of customs appeals has five judges and hears 
cases concerning the customs laws appealed from lower courts. 
The commerce cpurt, likewise composed of five judges, hears 
certain cases involving interstate and foreign commerce. 

261. Territorial Courts Congress has power to create 

territorial courts as a part of the government it erects for the 
territories, and to provide for a system of appeals leading 
up finally to the United States supreme court. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 165 

262. Courts in the District of Columbia The District of 

Columbia has two principal courts, a supremo court, consist- 
ing of six justices, and an appellate court of three judges. 

263. 'Jury Trial.— 1 The trial of crimes in the federal courts, 
except in cases of impeachment, is by jury, and such trials 
must be held in the state is which the crime was committed ; 
but when not committed within any state, the trial is required 
to be at such place or places as Congress may have directed. 

The jury consists of twelve good and lawful men, as in the 
state courts, and their verdict must be unanimous. The trial 
in criminal cases is upon a true bill of indictment found by a 
grand jury, as in the state courts. 

In civil actions the rule is that "in suits at common law, 
where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, 
right of trial by jury shall be preserved/' A suit brought by 
one person against another upon his promise to- pay money, or 
a suit for the recovery of a tract of land, are examples of suits 
at common law. In such cases, if the property in controversy 
is worth more than twenty dollars, a jury trial may be de- 
manded as a matter of right by either party to the suit. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Who is chief justice of the United States? 

2. Who is the judge of the 4th United' States circuit court? 

3. What justice of the supreme court is assigned to this circuit? 

4. Who is judge of the United States district court of the district in 

which you live? 

5. What is a United States commissioner ? 

6. For what crime was Aaron Burr tried? Was he tried in a state or 

a federal court? 

7. Who presided at the trial of Andrew Johnson? 



CHAPTER XII 
STATE AND FEDERAL AND INTERSTATE RELATIONS 



264. Explanatory. — The state and federal relations grow out 
of the powers which the United States may exercise over the 
states, the powers which the states have with respect to the 
Union, and the restrictions on the powers of both state and 
nation. 

These relations and the powers under the constitution which 
control them have been considered from time to time under 
their appropriate headings; it is, therefore, thought sufficient 
simply to group here the sections of the constitution relating 
to this topic, so that they may be studied together. 

SUPREMACY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

265. Constitutional Provisions. — (a) As To The Constitu- 
tion and Laws and Treaties. "'This constitution, and the 
laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance 
thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law 
of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound there- 
by, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the con- 
trary notwithstanding " 

(b) As to Regulating Commerce. 2 "The Congress shall 
have power * * * * * • to regulate commerce with 

[166] 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 167 

foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the 
Indian tribes/ ' 

(c) As to the Admission of New States. *"New states 
may be admitted by the Congress into this Union. " * * * 

(d) As to Certain Powers Conferred on Departments 
of Government. 2 The command of the militia of the states 
is conferred on the president; the power to 3 organize and 
equip them is conferred on Congress; the power is in Congress 
to Establish post offices and post roads in the states and to 
5 exercise exclusive legislation over the forts, arsenals, and 
dockyards of the United States, whether they be located in 
the states or territories — they are the property of the United 
States no matter where located. 

(e) As to Carrying Federal Power into Execution. 
6 "The Congress shall have power * * * * to make all 
laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers [the powers granted in Art. 1, 
Sec. 8 of the constitution], and all other powers vested by this 
constitution in the government of the United States or any 
department or officer thereof.' ' 

PROTECTION TO THE STATES 

266. Constitutional Provisions.— (a) Against Federal 
Encroachment. 7 "The powers not granted to the United 
States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, 
are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.' 7 

(b) Against Private Suits. 8 "The judicial power of the 
United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in 
law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 



168 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

United States by citizens of another state or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign state." 

(e) Against Dividing States. x "No new state shall be 
formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state." 

(d) Against Abolishing States * * * * 2 "Nor 
[shall] any state be formed by the junction' of two or more 
states or parts of states, without the consent of the legisla- 
tures of the states concerned, as well as of the Congress." 

(e) Against Preferring one State Over Another. 
3 "No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; 
nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pay duties in another." 

(/) Guarantee of Republican Government. 4 "The 
United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or 
of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), 
against domestic violence." 

(g) Equal Representation in the Senate. 5 "No state, 
without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in 
the senate." 

(h) Place of Trial Fixed in State Where Crime Com- 
mitted. 6 "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
ment, shall be by jury, and such trial shall be held in the 
state where the said crimes have been committed; but when 
not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such 
place or places as the Congress may by law have directed." 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 169 

PROHIBITIONS TO THE STATES 

267. Constitutional Provisions. — (a) As to Commerce. 
*"No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may 
be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and 
the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any state on 
imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury of the 
United States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revis- 
ion and control of the Congress. No state shall, without the 
consent of Congress, lay any duty or tonnage. " 

(b) As to War and Treaties. 2 "No state shall keep 
troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agree- 
ment or compact with another state or with a foreign power, 
or engage in war unless actually invaded, or in such imminent 
danger as will not admit of delay." 

(c) As to Privileges and Immunities of Citizens. 3 " All 
persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject 
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or 
enf ore any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pro- 
tection of the laws." 

(d) As to the Right to Vote. 4 "The right of citizens of 
the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by 
the United States or any state on account of race, color, cr 
previous condition of servitude." 



170 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

(e) As to Letters of Marque and Reprisal. *"No state 
shall grant letters of marque and reprisal." 

(/) As to Finance. 2 "No state shall coin money, issue bills 
of credit, or make anything but gold and silver coin atendei* 
in payment of debts/ ' 

(g) As to Punishment. 3 " No .state shall pass any bill of 
attainder or ex post facto law." 

(h) As to Contracts. 4 "No state shall pass any law im- 
pairing the obligation of contracts." 

(i) As to Titles of Nobility. 5 " No state shall grant any 
title of nobility." 

INTERSTATE RELATIONS 

268. Constitutional Provisions. — (a) As to Public Acts, 
Records, and Judicial Proceedings. 6 "Full faith and 
credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, 
and judicial proceedings of every other state. 

"And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the man- 
ner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved 
and the effect thereof." 

(6) As to Delivering up Fugitives. 7 " A person charged 
in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 
from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand 
of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be 
delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction 
of the crime." 

(c) As to Compacts Between States. 8 "No state shall 
without the consent of Congress * * * * enter into any 
agreement or compact with another state." 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 171 

(d) As to Trade Relations. States are forbidden, with- 
out the consent of Congress, to tax or exercise control over 
interstate commerce, whether it is carried on in vessels, trains, 
or other vehicles. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. What state was admitted into the Union with the provision that it could 

be divided into four states? 

2. What state was formed within the jurisdiction of another state 1 

3. What is interstate commerce 1 ? intrastate commerce? 

4. When two states of the federal Union disagree, what solution of the diffi- 

culty is possible. 



CHAPTER XIII 
TERRITORIES 



ACQUISITION— RELATION TO THE UNION- 
GO VEKNMENT 

269. Definition. — A territory is a portion of the country, 
subject to and belonging to tbe United States, which is outside 
the boundaries of any state. In this sense Alaska, Porto 
Rico, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Philippine Islands are 
all territories. Another definition of a territory is that it is 
one of the districts into which the public domain is divided 
for purposes of government. 

An unorganized territory is one whose government is main- 
ly or altogether administered by the national government. An 
organized territory is one in which its people are given the 
right to administer their local affairs. 

270. Acquisition of Territory. — AH the states in the Union, 
except the original thirteen and Texas, have been a part of 
the public domain of the United States or parts of the terri- 
tory of particular states. The states that possessed territory 
which they did not care to include within their own imme- 
diate boundaries ceded it to the Union. Notable examples 
of such cession are the great grants made by the states of 
North Carolina and Virginia. 

The states of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont were never 
parts of the public domain of the United States. Kentucky 

[172] 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 173 



was organized into a state out of territory belonging to Vir- 
ginia and admitted to the Union upon Virginia's cession. In 
the same way, Maine was organized into a state by its citizens 
and admitted to the Union on the cession of Massachusetts. 
Vermont was claimed by New Hampshire and New York, but 
on the extinction of their title was admitted to the Union. 
The United States has acquired its territory as follows : 

(a) By Cession of States. The lands now forming the 
states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and 
Tennessee; parts of Minnesota, Alabama, and Mississippi; 
and the District of Columbia. 

(b) By Purchase from France. The land now included 
in the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Ne- 
braska, North and South Dakota, Montana, and parts of 
Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Wyoming. 

(c) By Purchase and Cession from Spain. Florida, 
and parts of Alabama and Mississippi. 

(d) By Occupation. Oregon, Washington and Idaho. 

(e) By Conquest from Mexico. California, Nevada, 
Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. 

(/) By Purchase from Texas. Parts of Wyoming, Kan- 
sas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. 

(g) By Purchase from Mexico. Parts of New Mexico 
and Arizona. 

(h) By Purchase from Eussia. The territory of Alaska. 

(i) By Bequest of Its Citizens. The Hawaiian Islands. 

(;) By Conquest and Purchase from Spain. The 
Philippine Islands, Guam and Porto Rico. 

.(Jc) By Purchase from Denmark. Islands in the West 
Indies. 



174 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

271. Power of Acquisition. — The power of the government 
to acquire territory is now beyond question. Jefferson doubted 
whether the constitution gave him authority to purchase 
Louisiana; but on this subject the supreme court, in deciding 
the question of the effect of the treaty by which Spain had 
ceded Florida to the United States, said through Chief Jus- 
tice Marshall: 

"The constitution confers absolutely on the government 
of the Union the power of making war and of making treaties ; 
consequently that government possesses the power of acquiring 
territory either by conquest or by treaty." 

The clauses in the federal constitution which limit the 
powers of the general government were designed for the pro- 
tection of the states jealous of federal encroachment upon 
what they considered their sovereign powers. The acquire- 
ment of new territory and the manner in which it should be 
governed were not questions about which the framers of the 
constitution concerned themselves. 

272. Government. — The only clause in the constitution in 
which the word 'territory' occurs is the following: 

"The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make 
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or 
other property belonging to the United States; and nothing 
in this constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
claim of the United States or of any particular state." 

Under this clause of the constitution or under the necessary 
powers vetsted in the government, Congress has assumed full 
authority over the territories. It legislates for them directly 
or delegates to their inhabitants such powers of government as 
it sees fit. 



GOVERNMENT IN OPERATION 175 

The government of an organized territory is in the main 
patterned after the state governments. The inhabitants of a 
territory cannot elect senators or representatives to Congress, 
but they may send, if allowed by Congress, a delegate who is 
entitled to a seat on the floor of the house of representatives; 
he can take part in the debates, but cannot vote. 

Like a state, an organized territorial government has three 
departments, legislative, executive, and judicial. The offi- 
cers of the legislative department are elected by the people of 
the territory. The governor is appointed by the president, by 
and with the advice and consent of the senate. The other 
principal executive officers are appointed by the governor. 
The judicial districts, of which there are usually three, have 
over them each a judge, who is also appointed by the president 
by and with the advice and consent of the senate. These judges 
also sit together from time to time and constitute the terri- 
torial supreme court. 

The governor and the judges are paid by the United States. 
The other officers are usually paid by the territory. 

The governor annually reports to the president the affairs 
and condition of the territory. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. How many square miles were contained in the territory purchased from 

France? What amount was paid for it? 

2. Mention the principal terms of the treaty that brought the Spanish- 

American War to a close. 

3. Mention three states, other than Virginia and North Carolina, that have 

ceded land to the national government. 

4. What states claimed the territory north of the Ohio River? On what did 

they base their claims? 

5. Give several reasons for and against the acquisition of Cuba, 



CITIZENSHIP 



CHAPTER XIV 

QUALIFICATIONS, PRIVILEGES, AND DISQUALIFICA- 
TIONS OF CITIZENS 



QUALIFICATIONS 

273. Allegiance. — A citizen of a state or nation is one who 
owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protec- 
tion. Allegiance is the tie that binds the citizen to his govern- 
ment in return for the protection it affords. A citizen of North 
Carolina owes allegiance to the state and to the United States. 
His allegiance to the United States is now said to be para- 
mount. If there should be any conflict of authority between 
the two, he is obliged to obey the federal constitution rather 
than the state government; still each government is sovereign 
within its sphere. 

274. Natural-born Citizens. — The federal constitution says: 
8 "No person except a natural-born citizen or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution 
shall be eligible to the office of president." Such natural- 
born citizen is one who is born a citizen of the United States. 

4 "A11 persons born in the United States and 

subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United 
States and of the state wherein they reside. ,, They are also 
citizens of the United States thtfugh they reside in a territory 
instead of in a state. 

A child born of parents, citizens of the United States tem- 
porarily residing abroad, is subject to its jurisdiction because 

[179] 



180 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

his parents are; he is as much a natural-born citizen as if born 
within its borders. So a child born in this country of parents, 
citizens of a foreign country, temporarily residing here, is not 
thereby made a citizen of the United States. Like his par- 
ents he owes allegiance to a foreign country and like them he 
is known in our law as an alien. 

275. Aliens. — The inhabitants of a state or country are 
either native (natural born) or alien. 

In the United States an alien is one born out of the juris- 
diction of the national government and who has not been made 
a citizen under our constitution and laws. 

A foreigner who has not been naturalized and is merely pass- 
ing through our country or temporarily residing in it is not a 
subject of our government, state or national ; nor is he liable 
for taxes, military duty, and the other burdens and duties 
of citizenship, though he is bound to obey such laws as are ap- 
plicable to him. If, for example, he commits a crime, he is 
liable to be indicted, and if found guilty, he may be punished 
just as if he were a citizen. He is also protected by our laws 
while he remains among us. He has enough of the rights of 
citizenship to insure the safety of his person and of his proper- 
ty, but he has none of the privileges, such as voting and holding 
office, 

276. Naturalized Citizens. — An alien inhabitant of the 
United States becomes a citizen of this country and of the 
state or territory in which he resides by being naturalized. He 
is said to be naturalized when he has complied with the rule 
or law prescribed by Congress for making citizens of foreigners. 

The constitution of the United States gives to Congress 



CITIZENSHIP 181 



power to establish a 1 uniform rule* of naturalization." This 
means that the requirements for making foreigners citizens of 
the nation shall be the same in every state and territory. The 
federal constitution says : 

2 "A11 persons * * * * naturalized in the United States 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the 
United States and of the state wherein they reside." A per- 
son is under the jurisdiction of the United States when he is 
subject to its government. 

When an alien becomes naturalized, he has the same rights 
and privileges under the federal law as a natural-born citizen, 
except that he cannot become 3 president or vice-president of 
the United States. A naturalized citizen, however, may be 
elected 4 governor of North Carolina. The same is true of 
the 5 lieutenant governor; he must have the same qualifica.- 
tions as the governor inasmuch as he 6 succeeds him, if on 
account of death or for any other cause the governor's office 
becomes vacant. 

PRIVILEGES 

277. Voting in State and National Elections. — North Caro- 
lina, and indeed every state in the Union, by its laws and 
constitution determines which of its citizens shall vote and 
hold office under its government. Citizens qualified by the 
constitution and laws of North Carolina to 7 vote for officers 
under the state government are also qualified to vote for 
federal officers, — that is, for tsuch of them as are elected by 
the people, — namely, the presidential electors and members 
of Congress. 



182 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Our national constitution does not undertake to fix the 
qualifications of voters, — does not say who shall be allowed to 
vote, either in state or national elections. It does declare, 
however, that those who vote for members of Congress shall 
have the same Qualifications that the state has fixed for those 
who vote for members of the most "numerous branch of the 
state legislature/' The most numerous branch of our state 
legislature is the house of representatives. Therefore citizens 
qualified under the state laws and constitution to vote fop 
members of the North Carolina house of representatives are 
qualified to vote for members of the national house of repre- 
sentatives and senate. 

Another restriction imposed by the federal constitution 
upon the powers of the state to fix the qualifications of voters 
is that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen 
2 "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servi- 
tude/ 5 — that is, no state shall "deny or abridge" his right to 
vote in any election, state or federal, solely on account of his 
race or his color, or solely on account of the fact that he was 
once a slave. 

278. Voters and Office Holders. — A citizen who shall move 
into our state from another may be required to reside in the 
state for a period of time before he is allowed to vote or hold 
office. For example, the constitution of North Carolina pro- 
vides that 3 every male person born in the United states, and 
every male person who has been naturalized, twenty-one years 
old or upward, who shall have resided in the state two years 
next preceding the election and six months in the county in 
which he offers to vote, shall be deemed an elector. 

Usually the right to vote carries with it the right to hold 



CITIZENSHIP 183 



office. Several offices, however, are deemed so important 
that voters of inexperienced age are not allowed to hold them. 
A voter must be thirty years old before he can be governor 
or lieutenant governor of North Carolina. The president and 
vice-president must have attained the age of Hhirty-five years; 
United States senators, 2 thirty; representatives in Congress and 
Members of the state senate, twenty-five. Sometimes, too, 
the law requires special qualifications for particular officers — 
as that a judge shall be learned in the law. 

279. Right to Vote — How Fixed. — In 1900 the people of the 
state adopted an amendment to the constitution which went 
into effect in 1902. This amendment makes the requirements 
(l)that every citizen shall pay his 4 poll tax before he is allowed 
to vote, and (2) that he must also know how to 5 read and write 
the constitution in English. The second requirement, how- 
ever, is not allowed to exclude from voting any 6 male person 
who exercised that privilege on or before January 1, 1867 — 
he is presumed to know his civic rights and duties by experi- 
ence and observation; nor does this amendment exclude the 
7 lineal descendant of such voter, — such descendant is pre- 
sumed to have been so instructed that he will properly exer- 
cise and defend the obligations of citizenship. 

In order to ascertain and make a correct list of the citizens 
who are entitled to vote and to prevent those from voting who 
are not so entitled, it is necessary to register. A voter is said 
to be registered when on proof that he has a right to vote, his 
name has been entered on the registration book and he has 
taken an oath to support the constitutions of the state and 
the United States. The officers whose duty is to find out 
whether the citizens have the right to vote, and who take their 



184 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

oaths and make a list of their names in the registration books, 
are called registrars. 

When a person has been duly registered, he is said to be a 
qualified voter. The power to vote is not merely a right but 
a high privilege of citizenship, and the law allows only those 
to exercise it who are deemed worthy of it. 

DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR VOTING AND HOLDING 

OFFICE 

280. As to Age and Sex. — The privilege of voting is confined 
to those who are deemed able to defend it. A woman cannot 
vote in North Carolina. She may, however, impress her 
views, sentiments, and interests upon those who make the 
laws and elect the officers. She may train children to love 
their God and their country; she may fix in their hearts the 
proper principles of truth, justice, and humanity; she may 
teach them to know and maintain their rights and liberties, 
and thus prevent injustice to those who cannot help them- 
selves. 

No person is allowed to vote until he attains the age of 
twenty-one years. Below that age he is not deemed to have 
formed a correct judgment in political and business affairs, 
nor to have acquired sufficient character, firmness, and courage 
to defend his rights and privileges. 

281. Holding Two Offices Unlawful. — No person can at the 
same time hold *two offices, places of trust or of profit, even 
though one of them be under the authority of some other 
state government or of the United States or of some foreign 
state. But this rule does not apply to 2 officers in the militia, 



CITIZENSHIP 185 



to justices of the peace, to commissioners of public charities, 
or to commissioners for special purposes. 

282. Moral Disqualifications. — No person can hold office in 
this state who Menies the being of Almighty God. No person 
shall hold office in this state who shall fight a duel or in any 
manner assist in fighting one. 

283. Lost Citizenship. — A voter may lose his privilege of 
voting by committing a felony — a crime punishable by im- 
prisonment in the penitentiary. The felon may be restored 
to his lost privilege if it shall be determined in a lawful manner 
that he has shown due repentance of his crime by becoming 
a good citizen since his conviction. The governor of the state 
may pardon him; but it has not yet been decided in this state 
whether a pardon restores his lost privileges or only relieves 
him of his punishment. In the United States supreme court 
it has been held that pardon by the president restores to 
rights of citizenship in the United States, as if no crime had 
been committed. 

Until the convict is restored to citizenship he can be pre- 
vented from voting and holding office, and also from sitting as 
juror in a court of justice. The method of restoration, as 
prescribed by the general assembly, is that the convict, after 
the lapse of four years from his conviction, ma^ be restored to 
the privilege of citizenship if he shall prove by five witnesses 
that he has been for three years a person of good character for 
truth and honesty, and shall satisfy the court that he has be- 
come a good man. 

A voter in a particular state or territory loses his right t9 
vote there by becoming a citizen of another; but he may 



186 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

vote in the state or territory into which he has moved by com- 
plying with its laws, which are made consistently with the 
constitution and laws of the United States. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. What are immigration laws, and for what purposes are they passed? 

2. What class of aliens is most desirable as immigrants? Why? 

3. What do you understand by "the yellow peril"? 

4. Has any naturalized citizen ever been president of the United States or 

governor of North Carolina? 
5j. In what way are voters responsible for the government of the country? 

6. How does a primary differ from an election? 

7. How is the right to vote in a primary usually determined? 



CHAPTER XV 
LIBERTIES 



DEFINED AND EXPLAINED 

284. 'Liberty' Defined. — Liberty is defined to be "'free- 
dom from restraint; the faculty of willing; and the power of 
doing what is willed without interference from another." 

285. Natural Liberty. — Natural liberty is defined to be 
2 "the power of acting as one sees fit without any restraint or 
control unless by the law of nature/ 7 If one is the only inhab- 
itant of an island and is not subject to the law of any nation 
or government, he has natural liberty. 

286. Civil Liberty. — Civil liberty is defined to be 3 "natural 
liberty so far restrained by human law as is necessary and 
expedient for the public good." For example, if other peo- 
ple move in and take up their residence on the island along 
with the solitary inhabitant, his liberties are modified by the 
changed conditions. 

From that time forth his liberties, rights, and duties are 
mainly determined by his relations with the newcomers, for 
he must consider also their liberties, rights, and duties. If 
before, he wore no clothes, he must now put on some lest he 
give offense to the eyes of others. If he marries one of the 
girls, he must give his wife a part of what he makes; and when 
children are born, he must support them. 

[187] 



188 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

It now becomes necessary to organize a government or pub- 
lic means of protection and defence, and he must contribute 
his part of the taxes necessary to pay those selected to attend 
to its business. Those chosen for such pin-poses must be pro- 
tected from interference while in the discharge of their public 
duties. An example of such protection is afforded by the 
federal constitution, which provides that Members of Con- 
gress while attending its sessions or going to or returning 
from the same, cannot be arrested, except for treason, felony, 
or breach of the peace. 

287. Religious Liberty. — Religious liberty, or liberty of 
conscience, may be defined as the right of everyone to worship 
God as he chooses without being restrained or interfered 
with by government, society, church, or individual. This 
liberty was finally won in the Revolutionary War. It is the 
parent of all other rights and liberties. Not only are the 
strong not allowed to take it away from the weak, but no gov- 
ernment which has due regard for the interest and welfare 
of its citizens and subjects undertakes to prescribe or regu- 
late what they shall believe in regard to matters concerning 
religion. This liberty is now claimed as a natural right in 
every civilized country. 

In the United States, one church or religious denomination 
is not taxed to support another, nor are the people taxed to 
support any religion or religious denomination, or any charity, 
college, or school of such denomination; the support of such 
must be purely voluntary. Nor does the state meddle with 
the right to worship God. The constitution of North Caro- 
lina says: 

2 "A11 men have a natural and inalienable right to worship 



CITIZENSHIP 189 



Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, 
and no human authority should in any case whatever control 
or interfere with the lights of conscience." 

288. Church and State Separate. — The constitution of the 
United States says: 

2 "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' ' 

In England, as well as in the colonies under British rule, 
the British lawmakers made a particular form of wor- 
ship the religion of the state and taxed the people gen- 
erally to support it. This is what the constitution of the 
United States forbids Congress to do. Congress cannot make 
any law which would recognize any preference of one church, 
denomination, or form of worship over another; or which 
would interfere with the freedom of the people to worship God 
in any manner they see fit. 

So likewise our state constitution has forbidden the gen- 
eral assembly to give any preference to one faith, church, 
denomination, or form of worship over another. 

Any person may preach or proclaim his religious views 
under the special protection of both constitutions, and no one 
shall be allowed to hinder him or make him afraid. Even to 
disturb a congregation assembled for religious worship is made 
punishable by a law of this state. Under this law one man 
was 3 indicted for singing out of tune with the rest of the con- 
gregation; but the court let him go free on the ground that 
his intentions were good, — that he did not desire to disturb 
the congregation, but was really trying to worship God, though 
he had a harsh voice and a bad ear for music. 



190 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

289. Liberties Become Rights. — "'Liberties are nothing until 
they have become rights — positive rights formally recognized 
and consecrated. Rights are nothing so long as they are 
not intrenched with guarantees; and guarantees are nothing 
so long as they are not maintained by force sufficient for that 
purpose." An enlightened public sentiment is the great force 
under Providence for maintaining and preserving the rights 
and liberties of Americans. 

290. Constitutional Guarantee. — The subject may be best 
concluded in the language of the constitution: 

2 "That we hold it to be self-evident that all men are created 
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, the enjoy- 
ment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness." 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Why did the Huguenots emigrate to this country? 

2. What is the distinction between religious liberty and religious toleration? 

3. Where is the "liberty bell" kept, and why is it so called? 

4. Read Patrick Henry's speech on liberty which was delivered before the 

Virginia house of burgesses. 



CHAPTER XVI 
RIGHTS 



DEFINED AND EXPLAINED 

291. Definitions. — Rights may be defined as the just claims 
of human beings upon one another. 

Civil rights consist of (1) the right of acquiring, enjoying, 
and disposing of property; (2) the right of personal security, 
which is the lawful enjoyment of one's life, his limbs, his 
body, his health, and his reputation; (3) the right of personal 
liberty, which consists in the power of locomotion, of chang- 
ing situation, of removing one's person as one's inclination may 
direct without restraint or imprisonment unless by due process 
of law. 

Political rights confer la the power to participate or take 
part in the establishment or management of government ;" 
as, for example, the right to vote and hold office. Such rights, 
however, should be called privileges rather than rights, and 
should be won and retained, as are other honors, by good 
conduct. 

292. Inalienable Rights Not to be Sold. — Inalienable rights 
are such as cannot be sold or bargained away; as, for ex- 
ample, the right to 2 " fife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 
If one should sell or contract to sell himself, his wife, or child, 
such sale or contract would be unlawful and void. A parent 
may, indeed, appoint a guardian for the care and custody of 

[191] 



192 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

his child under the age of twenty-one years, but such guardian- 
ship must be for the child's benefit, and the courts will see that 
the guardian is faithful to his ward. 

A mother in North Carolina undertook, by deed duly 
executed, to dispose of her child for a sum of money to be paid 
to her for her own benefit; but our supreme court refused to 
uphold the contract and said that the benefit of the child must 
be the main thing to be regarded. Even punishment should 
be administered for the good of the child. 

293. Sale of Political Rights Unlawful. — No one can law- 
fully sell his right to vote or hold office; nor even his right 
to vote for a particular person, or his right to hold a particular 
office. The value of such rights is too great to be measured in 
dollars and cents. The whole people are injured by the de- 
pravity of anyone who would treat lightly the precious privi- 
leges of citizenship; hence the law will not allow them to be 
made the subject of bargain and sale. 

Jugurtha, the Numidian king, after buying his acquittal 
of the crime of murder from the highest court in Rome, ut- 
tered words of prophecy when he exclaimed at parting: "0 
venal city, which shall perish as soon as a purchaser shall be 
found for thee." As perished Rome, so will perish all peoples, 
states, and nations that buy and sell, or permit to be bought 
and sold, the verdicts of juries, the judgments of courts, the 
voices of legislators, and the votes of citizens. Virtue and 
patriotism, justice and liberty, are not for sale — they are the 
gifts of God. 

294. Sale of Private Rights Restricted. — No one is allowed to 
sell his happiness or his right to pursue his 2 private business 



CITIZENSHIP 193 



or profession, but he may lawfully agree not to follow such 
business or calling in any given place or community. The 
person with whom he has made such agreement may compel 
him by law to choose, if he has so agreed, a new field of em- 
ployment in a place where it will not seriously lessen or inter- 
fere with the profits of the business he has sold. Outside of 
those limits he is still free to begin business anywhere else he 
pleases. Nor will the law allow a person, even for money, to 
cut himself off from carrying on his occupation everywhere 
or at all places. 

A sawmill man in a certain town in North Carolina sold his 
mill and machinery and agreed not to set up another in that 
town or its vicinity, and the courts made him stand by his bar- 
gain. If he had tried to sell his right to set up a sawmill 
everywhere in the state, or even in the eastern part of it, the 
courts would have held that such attempted sale was unlaw- 
ful and void. 

The power of determining how much territory one may sell 
his right to do business in is exercised by the courts. 

295. Offices Cannot Be Sold. — No person can lawfully sell 
a public office nor his right to hold it. If he wishes to get rid 
of it, he may resign; and then another person is elected or ap- 
pointed in his place as the law provides. 

No one can lawfully sell the authority of his office nor any 
part of it, nor any favor or priyilege conferred by it. "A 
public office is a public trust" — it must be exercised for the 
benefit of the people. They elect to office or give the power 
to appoint an officer, and they pay his salary; he is therefore 
the servant of the people and must exercise his authority for 
their benefitand according to their will as expressed by law. 



194 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

296. Public Property Not To be Sold For Private Gain. — A 

public officer is not allowed to sell the property belonging to 
his office, except as the law permits, and then only for the 
public benefit. Nor can anyone engaged in a public business 
(for example, operating a Railroad) lawfully sell, without the 
consent of the people, property which is necessary in his busi- 
ness for their accommodation. He has undertaken to become a 
public servant and must be true to his trust of carrying the 
people safely, conveniently, and comfortably as the law re- 
quires and at such rates and charges as the law prescribes 
or allows. In other words, he is not allowed to deprive him- 
self of the means of doing his duty. 

297. Right of Worship Inalienable. — The right to Wor- 
ship Almighty God according to the dictates of the worshiper's 
own conscience is inalienable. If one should be wicked enough 
to try to sell this right and another should be foolish enough 
to try to buy it, the law would not allow such a trade to be en- 
forced or respected. Conscience is not a commodity — it can- 
not be bought and sold. 

As one cannot sell his own duties, public or private, nor 
his own liberties and inalienable rights, still less can another 
dispose of them or take them away. 

1 ■* -. - • — ■ — — — — — — • 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. How does happiness depend upon the maintenance of rights? 

2. If the claims of two persons as to their rights conflict, how may their dif- 

ferences be settled? 

3. What sections of the declaration of rights of 1776 are a part of our present 

state constitution? 

4. Has the state a right to require a railroad company to fix its rates so that 

there would be no profit to the owners of the railroad? 

5. What do you understand by "government ownership"? 



CHAPTER XVII 
SAFEGUARDS OF RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES 



TRAINING FOR CITIZENSHIP 

298. Civic Righteousness. — The great safeguard of our rights, 
liberties, and institutions is the courage, intelligence, morality, 
and religion of the citizens. No government can be perma- 
nent or remain free where the standard of citizenship is de- 
praved. A people educated in the principles of civic right- 
eousness, unhampered by entangling alliances, and unhindered 
by the designs of the ambitious and powerful, speedily find or 
devise laws and constitutions which best express their wishes 
and subserve their purposes. 

The struggles by means of which our rights have been estab- 
lished and declared and our institutions won and maintained 
show us the value of certainty and clearness in the forms and 
phrases in which our organic law is written. 

299. Familiarity With the Constitution. — The bulwarks, 
guarantees, or safeguards of our rights and liberties are 
embedded in our organic law. They are so essential and so 
wisely devised that the language in which they are set forth 
should become as familiar as household words. No substitute 
for the clauses of the constitutions, state and national, in 
which they are contained, can adequately express their 
meaning. These clauses when thrown together in their proper 
relation, mutually explain, support and strengthen each other. 

[195] 



196 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

SAFEGUARDS IN THE STATE CONSTITUTION 

300. Freedom and Frequency of Elections. — lli All elections 
ought to be free." 

2 " For redress of grievances and for amending and strengthen- 
ing the laws, elections should be often held." 

301. Freedom of the Press and Religious Liberty. — 3 "The 
freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, 
and therefore ought never to be restrained; but every individ- 
ual shall be held responsible for the abuse of the same." 

4 " All men have a natural and inalienable right to worship 
Almighty God according to the dictates of their own con- 
sciences, and no human authority should, in any case what- 
ever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience." 

302. Special Privileges Forbidden. — 5 "No man or set of men 
are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges 
from the community but in consideration of public services." 

6 "No hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors ought to 
be granted or conferred in this state." 

7 " Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of 
a free state, and ought not to be allowed." 

303. Military Power in Subjection. — 8 "No soldier shall in 
time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent 
of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner prescribed 
by law." 

304. Protection of the Law. — 9 "No person ought to be taken, 
imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, 
or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, 
liberty, or property but by the law of the land." 



CITIZENSHIP 197 



305. Rights of Accused Persons. — la In all criminal prosecu- 
tions, every man has the right to be informed of the accusa- 
tion against him and to confront the accusers and witnesses 
with other testimony, and to have counsel for his defense, and 
not be compelled to give evidence against himself or to pay 
costs, jail fees, or necessary witness fees of the defense, unless 
found guilty." 

2a Excessive bail should not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted." 

3 "No person shall be put to answer any criminal charge, 
except as hereinafter allowed, but by indictment, present- 
ment, or impeachment." 

4 "General warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be 
commanded to search suspected places without evidence of 
the act committed, or to seize any person or persons not named 
whose offense is not particularly described and supported by 
evidence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not to be granted." 

5 "Every person restrained of . his liberty is entitled to a 
remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove 
the same if unlawful; and such remedy ought not to be 
denied or delayed.' 

6a The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended." 

7 "Retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the 
existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, 
are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty; where- 
fore, no ex post facto laws ought to be made. No law taxing 
retrospectively sales, purchases, or other acts previously done, 
ought to be passed." 



198 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

306. Open Courts.— "'All courts shall be open; and every 
person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or 
reputation shall have remedy by due course of law, and right 
and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay." 

307. Trial by Jury.— 2 "No person shall be convicted of any 
crime but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and law- 
ful men in open court. The legislature may, however, pro- 
vide other means of trial for petty misdemeanors, with the 
right of appeal." 

3 "In all controversies at law respecting property, the ancient 
mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights 
of the people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable." 

308. Property Qualification Forbidden. — 4 " As political rights 
and privileges are not dependent upon or modified by prop- 
erty, therefore no property qualification ought to affect the 
right to vote or hcJd office." 

309. Slavery Prohibited. — 5 "Slavery and involuntary servi- 
tude otherwise than for crime, whereof the parties shall have 
been duly convicted, shall be, and are hereby, forever pro- 
hibited within the state." 

310. Definitions.— An indictment is a written accusation 
of crime presented upon oath by a grand jury. Strictly 
speaking, a presentment and indictment differ — the first being 
that which the grand jury find and present to the court from 
their own knowledge or observation; the second is also pre- 
sented to the court, but it is found upon information received 
from witnesses. 

Hereditary honors and emoluments are those which are in- 
herited like property. 



CITIZENSHIP 199 



The perpetuities referred to, if allowed, would enable prop- 
erty owners by will and other writing to direct to whom their 
property should go for an indefinite period after their death. 

The writ of habeas corpus is issued by a judge to inquire 
into the lawfulness of the detention or imprisonment of a 
person. A fuller definition is that it is a writ issued by a judi- 
cial officer directed to a person detaining another, command- 
ing him (1) to produce the body of the prisoner at a certain time 
and place named in the writ; (2) to state the day and cause of 
his caption and detention; and (3) to do and submit to what 
the judge issuing the writ shall order. 

SAFEGUARDS IN THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 

3x1. Power in the People. — ia The enumeration in the con- 
stitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or dis- 
parage others retained by the people." 

2 "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security 
of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms 
shall not be inf ringed." 

312. Power in the States. — 3 "The powers not delegated to the 
United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people." 

313. Restrictions on the Power of Federal Government. — 

4 " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a 
redress of grievances." 



200 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

314. Military Power in Subjection. — "'No soldier shall, in 
time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent 
of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner prescribed 
by law." 

315. Equality before the Law. * * * * 2 "No state 
shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privi- 
leges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall 
any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, with- 
out due process of law, nor deny any person within its juris- 
diction the equal protection of the laws." 

316. Right of Trial by Jury. — 3 "In suits at common law, 
where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, 
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact tried 
by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the 
United States than according to the rules of the common law." 

317. Rights of Accused Persons. — iU The right of the people 
to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against 
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and 
no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported 
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place 
to be searched, and the person or things to be seized." 

5 "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment 
of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia when in active service in time of war 
or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same 
offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be 
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against him- 
self; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 



CITIZENSHIP 201 



process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public 
use without just compensation. 

*"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the 
state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, 
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, 
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have com- 
pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to 
have the assistance of counsel for his defense. " 

2 " Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

3 "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." 

4 "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the 
public safety may require it." 

CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS COMPARED AND 

EXPLAINED 

318. Exercise of Popular Will. — The safeguards which se- 
cure the people in the expression and exercise of their will 
may be grouped together. 

(a) 5 Freedom of Conscience and 6 Religious Liberty. 

(6) 7 Freedom of Speech and of the Tress. This 
freedom must not be abused; to speak falsely and ma- 
liciously of another in the presence of others is slander and 
subjects the speaker to suit for injury or damage to repu- 
tation; and to write falsely and maliciously of another and 
publish what is written is libel and subjects the writer not only 



202 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

to suit by the person defamed and injured but also to in- 
dictment and punishment for the offense against the public. 

(c) *Freedom of Assembly. The people have the right 
to meet together to consider and discuss what concerns them, 
to criticise, instruct, and 2 petition their lawmakers, and to in- 
form themselves of the conduct of all public officials. 

(d) 'Freedom and Frequency of Elections. 

(e) Local Self-Go vernment. This is the right of each 
community to Regulate its own affairs, — the affairs which 
peculiarly concern its own people — and to have a voice in 
determining what concerns it in common with other commu- 
nities to which it stands related. 

319. Right of Trial by Jury. — The right of trial by jury 
is very ancient and is jealously guarded by all English-speak- 
ing peoples. Next to the right of selecting their own officers, 
it is the great palladium of liberty. It enables the people, 
after making the laws through those they elect, to join in the 
administration of law. The jury, by being an essential part 
of our system of courts, becomes the associate of judges and 
lawyers; and the citizens liable to jury duty and those who 
watch the proceedings of courts become educated in a knowl- 
edge of the laws and institutions of the country. The ten- 
dency is to make us a nation of magistrates assisting in the 
execution of the laws we have made. 

320. Jury Trial in the State Courts. — (a) In Criminal Cases. 
Right of trial by jury is a great bulwark of liberty not only 
for the accused but as a means of educating the people in the 
laws of their country, in the administration of justice, and in 
the machinery of the courts. 



CITIZENSHIP 203 



(b) In Civil Cases. lu In all civil controversies at law 
respecting property the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of 
the best securities of the rights of the people and ought to 
remain sacred and inviolable. 7 ' 

321. Jury Trial in the Federal Courts. — The mode of select- 
ing juries in the federal courts is modeled after that which 
obtains in the state courts. The number of jurors required 
to constitute a jury is the same as in the state courts; 
the requirement that the jury shall agree unanimously upon 
their verdict is also the same. 

322. Open Court and Fair Trial. — An important safeguard 
is the right to a fair, impartial, legal, and orderly administra- 
tion of justice ; a right to a trial by 2 due process or due course 
of law; a right to the 3 equal protection of the laws. 

The courts shall be 'open' to the poorest as well as the most 
powerful and they shall try cases in public. Both judges and 
jurors shall be disinterested and neither shall be influenced 
by fear, favor, or affection, reward or the hope of reward. The 
process and proceedings should be certain and particular — 
general Varrants for arrest and search are forbidden; every 
warrant should describe the person to be seized and the place 
to be searched. 

Accused persons shall be informed with certainty and par- 
ticularity of the charges against them. 

No person shall be put to answer any criminal charges ex- 
cept upon indictment and presentment by a 6 grand jury. 

The accused has the right to Confront the accuser and wit- 
nesses with other testimony and to be heard and to have coun- 
sel in his own defense and to have compulsory process, — 



204 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

that is, the power of the court, to compel one's own witnesses 
to attend the trial. 

323. Right of Appeal. — The J right of appeal in matters 
of law — the right to ascertain whether the case has been tried 
according to law — exists in all cases, criminal and civil, as 
provided for in the constitution and regulated by statute. 
But when the trial is according to law, the verdict of a regu- 
larly constituted jury in a properly constituted court stands 
as final upon the issues of fact determined thereby and cannot, 
except for extraordinary causes, be disturbed by appeal. 

The law allows the right of appeal in matters of fact, as well 
as of law, to any person convicted in the inferior courts. When 
a person is regularly acquitted by a jury in any court which 
had the right to try the case, no appeal is allowed to be taken 
by the state or prosecuting officer. The case is ended and the 
accused goes free. 

324. Delivery from Unlawful Imprisonment. — Any arrest 
or imprisonment may be inquired into by a judge upon a writ 
of 2 habeas corpus and the prisoner may be discharged if the 
judge shall find that the detention or imprisonment is un- 
lawful. 

325. Right of Bail for Appearance at Court. — The judge shall 
release the prisoner on his giving Security for appearance at 
court for trial, when the offense of which he is accused 
is one for which the law allows bail. 

A justice of the peace is authorized to allow bail for certain 
offenses that he is not permitted to try. 

326. Plea of "Twice in Jeopardy." — The constitution pro- 
vides that no one for the same offense shall be put 4 " twice in 
jeopardy of life or limb/' 



CITIZENSHIP 205 



In other words, when one has been regularly tried and ac- 
quitted, he shall not be again tried for the same offense wheth- 
er the punishment is death or other bodily punishment. 
'Jeopardy of limb' refers to the old custom of punishing 
criminals by the loss of or injury to some member of his body. 
The custom was to burn the hand or crop the ears of those con- 
victed of certain crimes. 

When one has been convicted and punished, he has satis- 
fied the law and he cannot be tried again and punished for the 
same offense. In North Carolina this is so by the common 
law. 

327. Right of Personal Security. — Persons and their houses, 
papers, and possessions shall be secure from unlawful seizures 
and searches. Warrants authorizing seizures and searches 
should be issued only by lawful officers and then only upon 
oath or other proper information. A warrant should not 
be general — directed at classes of individuals, undefined ob- 
jects and places; they should describe the particular per- 
sons and things to be seized and the particular place which 
is to be searched. 

Quartering soldiers on private families is not allowed in 
time of peace, and in time of war it is allowed only as prescribed 
by law. 

328. Right of Private Property. — 'Private property shall 
not be taken even for public purposes without just com- 
pensation to the owner. The state may compel a landowner 
to allow a railroad to pass over his land because those build- 
ing are to serve the public, but the railroad must pay the 
damages. 



206 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

329. Due Process of Law. — The mode of procedure in the 
courts should be according to the la law of the. land," by 
2 "due process of law." 

330. The Common Law. — The common law is the unwrit- 
ten law of England, administered by the king's courts, which 
purports to be derived from ancient and universal usage, and 
is embodied in old law commentaries and reports of cases. It 
is the law based on custom as distinct from acts passed by 
legislative bodies. The English common law was in force 
in the courts of the American colonies at the time of the 
Revolution, and it continued in force after the states sepa- 
rated from England. The common law is still used in the 
courts of the original thirteen states and in nearly all the 
states formed by Congress. Except in so far as its rules have 
been modified or abrogated by our laws and institutions, the 
common law continues in force in North Carolina. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. In what ways is the study of civil government a safeguard! to our 

rights and liberties? 

2. If you were unlawfully imprisoned, what steps would be necessary in 

order to regain your liberty? 

3. If a landowner and a railroad company differ as to the value of a 

piece of land on which the company desires to lay its track, how 
are their differences usually settled? 

4. Why is the common law not in force in Louisiana? 

5. If possible, attend the trial of a case and explain how the rights of 

the defendant were safeguarded by law. 



CHAPTER XV11I 
WRONGS AND THEIR REMEDIES 

CLASSIFIED AND EXPLAINED 

331. Public and Private Wrongs. — Wrongs are either public 
or private. Public wrongs are punished by the state or nation 
as felonies and misdemeanors. Private wrongs, such as mere 
civil injuries, are redressed by suits of one person against an- 
other. Sometimes one act is both a public and a private wrong, 
for example, when one assaults and beats another, he may be 
indicted and punished for the breach of the public peace, and 
he may be also sued in a civil action for the outrage and injury 
tolthe person. 

Public wrongs consist of (1) acts which tend to disturb, em- 
barrass, or subvert the government, a familiar example of 
which is treason — also called high treason; (2) acts which 
hinder the administration of law, as when one resists an offi- 
cer lawfully authorized to make an arrest; (3) acts and neg- 
lects which injure or prejudice individuals in their persons 
or property and at the same time indirectly and perceptibly 
injure the public; as, for example, robbery and forgery. Per- 
sons who commit such offenses endanger the public if they are 
allowed to go unpunished. 

332. Public Wrongs and Their Prevention. — Crime is defined 
as "any wrong which the government deems injurious to the 
public at large and punishes through a judicial proceeding in 

[207] 



208 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

its own name." Crimes are either felonies or misdemeanors. 
A felony, under the laws of North Carolina, is a crime which 
is or may be punishable by death or confinement in the peni- 
tentiary; any other crime is a misdemeanor. 

Felony is not defined in federal law, but it means an offense 
to which is attached an infamous punishment. In English 
law it was followed by forfeiture of lands and goods. 

A felony is tried by a court with a jury upon indictment by 
a grand jury. For the trial of misdemeanors — or more accu- 
rately, ltl petty misdemeanors/ ' — the general assembly may, 
and often does, provide other modes of trial with right of ap- 
peal. 

The law's remedy for public wrong is the punishment of it, 
and ordinarily it waits until a violation is committed before 
it moves, as it does not presume wrong in any man. There 
is law, however, to prevent crime attempted or begun, the 
very attempt itself being a public offense; routs, riots, and 
unlawful assemblies may be lawfully dispersed by peace officers 
before they have resulted in more serious crimes. 

OFFENSES AGAINST THE STATE 

333. Principal Offenses. — Some of the principal crimes 
against the state are treason, murder, arson, burglary, larceny, 
forgery, robbery, perjury, embezzlement, some lesser crimes, 
or misdemeanors, are assault and battery, removing crops with- 
out permission, trespassing upon and damage to land. 

334. Treason. — Treason is best defined in the language of 
the constitution: 

2 " Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war 



CITIZENSHIP 209 



against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and com- 
fort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confes- 
sion in open court. No conviction of treason or attainder 
shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture/ 7 

The provision against l corruption of blood' refers to the 
usage of the English law which visited the offense of one con- 
victed of treason upon his children and relatives so that none 
of them could inherit his property; it was therefore forfeited 
to the government. By ' corruption of blood' the law means 
incapacity to inherit property, as from one's father, and inca- 
pacity to transmit property by inheritance, as to one's son. 

335. Murder. — Murder in the first degree is any wilful, pre- 
meditated killing of one human being by another or killing 
by one who is at the time engaged in committing or is attempt- 
ing to commit a felony; it is punishable by death. Murder 
in the second degree is any other murder; it is punishable by 
imprisonment in the penitentiary. 

336. Arson. — Arson is the malicious burning of the dwell- 
ing house of another. 

337. Burglary. — Burglary is the breaking into and enter- 
ing a dwelling house at night with intent to commit felony. 
It is a sufficient breaking to constitute the crime if one obtains 
admittance by fraud or false pretence. One is guilty of burg- 
lary if he merely lifts the latch and enters or comes down the 
chimney, provided that the time is night and the intent fel- 
onious. Mere entry through an open window, however, is not 
burglary; there must be a breaking or such fraud or force in 
entering the dwelling as is deemed equivalent thereto. 



210 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



338. Larceny. — Larceny is defined as the "felonious taking 
and carrying away of the personal goods of another ;" or "the 
wrongful taking and carrying away by one person of the per- 
sonal goods of another from any place with a felonious intent 
to convert them to his (the taker's) own use and make them 
his property without the consent of the owner." 

339. Forgery. — Forgery is the fraudulent making or altera- 
tion of a writing to the prejudice of another man's right. The 
essence of the crime is making an instrument of writing appear 
that which it is not in fact. 

340. Perjury. — Perjury is false swearing before some person 
competent to administer an oath. Usually this swearing is 
before a court of competent jurisdiction on a matter material 
to the question under investigation. 

341. Embezzlement. — Embezzlement is the fraudulent 
appropriation to one's own use of money or goods in- 
trusted to one's care by another. It is distinguished from 
larceny in the fact that the original taking of the property 
was lawful or with the consent of the owner, while in larceny 
the taking must be with felonious intent. There is no exact 
substitute for the word felonious, though the words 'ma- 
licious/ Villainous/ 'perfidious/ and sometimes 'fraudu- 
lent' carry with them something of the same significance. 

342. Punishments. — The constitution of North Carolina 
says: 

"'The following punishments only shall be known to the 
laws of this state, viz: death, imprisonment with or with- 
out hard labor, fines, removal from office and disqualifica- 
tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under 



CITIZENSHIP 211 



this state. The foregoing provision for imprisonment with 
hard labor shall be construed to authorize the employment of 
such convict labor on public works or highways, or other labor 
for public benefit, and the farming out thereof, where and in 
such manner as may be provided by law." But those con- 
victed of very high offenses, such as Murder, burglary, and 
arson, are not allowed to be farmed out. 
The last clause of the section just quoted says: 
1 Provided, that no convict whose labor may be farmed out 
shall be punished for any failure of duty as a laborer, except 
by a responsible officer of the state; but the convicts so farmed 
out shall be at all times under the supervision and control, as 
to their government and discipline, of the penitentiary board or 
some officer of this state." 

OFFENSES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES 

343. Principal Offenses. — Some of the principal offenses 
against the United States are treason, murder committed 
on the high seas or on the waters or within the forts and other 
places under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, 
piracy and other felonies committed on the high seas, bribery, 
counterfeiting, robbing the mails, and violations of the in- 
ternal revenue laws. 

344. The Greatest Offense. — Treason is defined in the con- 
stitution and its importance emphasized by sundry provis- 
ions: 

2 " Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, 
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of 



212 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act or on confession in open court." 

*"The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption 
of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person 
attainted.' ' 

1 Attainder' is that extinction of civil rights and capacities 
which takes place whenever a person who has been convicted 
of treason or felony receives sentence of death. The effect 
of attainder upon the felon is that all his estate, real and per- 
sonal, is forfeited, and that his blood is corrupted so that 
nothing passes by inheritance to, from, or through him. The 
constitution forbids that such a rule respecting the felon's 
property shall operate for a longer time than his life. 

345. Crimes on the High Seas. — Piracy is the act of plunder- 
ing vessels at sea without the authority of any nation. It is 
also defined as a robbery or forcible depredation on the high 
seas without lawful authority. All nations and indi- 
viduals are warranted in seizing and executing pirates. 
The constitution gives Congress the power to define and pun- 
ish piracies committed on the high seas and offenses against 
the law of nations. 

346. Corruption in Office. — Bribery, within the meaning of 
the constitution, ma} 7 " be defined as the receiving of money 
or other thing of value by an officer as a reward for official 
conduct. Bribery, in general, is the offering of any undue 
compensation to any person whomsoever whose ordinary pro- 
fession or business relates to the administration of public jus- 
tice, in order to influence his behavior in office and to incline 



CITIZENSHIP 213 



him to act contrary to his duty and the known rules of honesty 
and integrity. The constitution of the United States makes 
the following provision: 

ia The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the 
United States shall be removed from office on impeachment 
for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes 
and misdemeanors." 

Congress in carrying out its powers has denounced the crime 
of bribery and prescribed punishment for asking, accepting, 
or receiving bribes by public officers of the United States. 

347. Tampering with the Currency. — Counterfeiting the 
money and securities of the United States consists in fraudu- 
lently making something in semblance of the true. To make 
imitation coin or treasury notes of the United States with the 
fraudulent intent to pass them off as money is counterfeiting. 

348. Other Offenses. — The United States also punishes 
such offenses as robbing the mails and opening letters which 
have been posted. 

Smuggling is another crime punishable by United States 
law. It is the bringing of merchandise into the country with- 
out paying the import duties. 

Some of the principal misdemeanors against the general 
government relate to violations of the laws regulating the 
manufacture and collection of revenue from the sale of 
tobacco and of whiskey, and other alcoholic liquors. 

There are no 2 common law offenses against the United 
States. All crimes which the federal courts have power and 
jurisdiction to punish are mentioned in the constitution or 
in the statutes enacted under its authority. 



214 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

This is not true, however, of this state ; here some crime*, 
not described or denounced by any statute, are punishable by 
force of the common law. An example is eavesdropping. 
1 "Eavesdroppers are such as listen under walls or windows 
or eaves of houses to hearken after discourse and thereupon 
proclaim slanderous and mischievous tales." 

PKIVATE WKCMGS 

349. Torts. — Private wrongs are commonly called torts. 
The ways in which one may become liable for an action or 
suit for tort are as follows : 

(a) By actually doing to the prejudice or injury of another 
something he ought not to do, as going upon his lands, cutting 
down his trees or trampling upon his crops. 

(&) By doing something that one may rightfully do, but by 
doing it wrongfully or negligently by such means or at such 
times or in such manner that another is injured. A railroad 
company may lawfully carry one on its train ; but if it carries 
him so as to negligently run into another train, or carries him 
in cars so badly constructed ajs to break down, or carries him 
faster than is safe, with the machinery and appliances employ- 
ed, and injury results to the person so carried without a caus- 
ing fault of his own, the railroad company is liable for damages. 

(c) By neglecting to do something which one ought to do 
whereby another suffers an injury. If the law reasonably 
requires a railroad to use the Janney coupler and there is a 
failure to provide such couplers and if a brakeman or passen- 
ger is injured as a direct result of the failure to provide such 
couplers, the railroad company is liable for damages. 



CITIZENSHIP 215 



350. Redress. — The legal redress for private injury is by 
civil action or other proceeding in court Procedure in court 
is based upon the principle that the law provides a remedy 
for every wrong. On this account citizens are not encouraged 
in avenging their own wrongs whether public or private. 
There would be anarchy if every man was allowed to take 
the law in his own hands. Only sworn officers of the law 
should administer the laws. 

351. Prevention. — In the administration of civil law the 
courts may enjoin and restrain the commission of certain 
wrongs which, if committed, would be irreparable. If one 
should go upon the premises of another and begin or be about 
to cut down his shade trees; or if an insolvent person, — a 
person not able to pay his debts, especially any judgment for 
damages for his wrong, — should begin or be about to commit 
some wrong or injury to another's property for which an 
action for damages is allowed by law, such person may be 
enjoined and restrained. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

1. Mention a case, within your knowledge, of a public wrong; of a 

private wrong; of a public and private wrong. 

2. Who was the great traitor of the Revolutionary War, and of what 

crime was he guilty? 

3. Is it better to employ convicts on public works of the state than to 

hire them out to private individuals, or to corporations? State 
your reasons. 

4. Mention two places at which persons convicted of crimes against the 

United States are confined for punishment. 

5. Whmt do you understand' by the term "assault and battery ?" "the high 

seas"? "other high crimes and misdemeanors"? "Torts"? 



216 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

CONCLUSION 

352. A Model Citizen. — A model citizen is well informed — 
educated in the principles of government; he is a good neigh- 
bor — ever considerate of the health, comfort, and safety of 
those with whom he is associated; he is intelligently industri- 
ous — skilled and active in some useful employment. 

He bears his part of the expenses of government. He con- 
sults his neighbors concerning the public welfare, promotes 
their frequent assembling to consider matters of common con- 
cern, and is well posted in regard to the conduct of officers who 
administer law and government. 

He does not seek office for which he is unfitted; but he 
does not shirk public duty when his country needs his service, 
in peace or in war. In this service he is faithful and brave. 
As judge or juror, he is not controlled by "fear, favor, or affec- 
tion, reward or the hope of reward." He does not accept em- 
ployment which is inconsistent with his duty as a citizen. 

He is the friend of the poor, of widows and of orphans — 
the champion of the oppressed. He is the visitor of captives — 
swift to inquire into the causes of their imprisonment, watch- 
ful of the condition of the places where they are confined, and 
of the character and conduct of those who have them in cus- 
tody. 

He is law-abiding — keeps the law himself and is ready to 
assist in its enforcement. As taxpayer and voter, the suppor- 
ter and constitutional master of all public servants, he 
assumes his share of responsibility for the administration of 
government. 



CITIZENSHIP 217 



353. A Model Administration. — A model administration of 
government decrees ut equal and exact justice to all men of 
whatever state or persuasion, religious or political." It pro- 
motes "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all na- 
tions, entangling alliances with none. It supports the state 
governments in all their rights as the most competent admin- 
istrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks 
against anti-republican tendencies." It regards "the pres- 
ervation of the general government in its whole constitu- 
tional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and our 
safety abroad." It is watchful "with a jealous care of the right 
of election by the people." It commands "absolute acquies- 
cence in the decision of the majority, the vital principle of 
republics." It provides and maintains "a well disciplined 
militia." It secures "the supremacy of the civil over the 
military authority, economy in the public expense that labor 
may be lightly burdened, the honest payment of debts and 
sacred preservation of public faith, encouragement of agricul- 
ture and of. commerce as its handmaid, the diffusion of in- 
formation, and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public 
reason, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom 
of person under the protection of habeas corpus, and trial by 
juries impartially selected. 

"These principles form a bright constellation which has gone 
before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution 
and reformation." 



REFERENCES 



Page 12 

1. U.S. Const. Art. IV. Sec. 3. 

2. U.S. " " V. 

Page 15 
1. U.S. Const. Art. I. Sec. 2, 3. 

Page 16 
1. N. C. Const. Art. XI. Sec. 1. 

Page 19 
1 U. S. Const. P reamble. 

Page 42 

1. N. C Const. Art. II. Sec. 2. 

2. N.C. " M XIV. " 6. 

Page 45 

1. U. S. Const. Art. I. Sec. 8, 
CI. 1. 

Page 46 

1. N. C. Const. Art. I. Sec 2. 

2. N.C. " " I. " 3. 

Page 48 

1. U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 1. 

2. U.S. " " I. " 1. 

3. U. S. " " m. " 1. 

4. U. S. " " I. " 8, 
a 1. 

Page 49 

1. U. S. Const. Art. VII. 

Page 50 

1. U. S. Const. Art. VI. CI. 2, 3 
U.S. " " XIV. " 1. 
Amend. 

U.S. " "I. Sec. 10. 

2. U.S. " " VI. CI. 2. 



U.S. Const. Art. VI. Sec. 3. 
N. C. Revisal. of 1905. " 2357. 

Page 51 

N.C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 5. 
U.S. " " X. Amend. 

Page 52 

U.S. Const. Art. I. Sec. 3, 

C1.1. 

U. S. " ° I. M 2, 

CI. 1. 

N.C. " " II. " 25. 



Page 53 



1. 


U. S. Const, 
a 4. 


Art. 


2. 


N. C. " 


tt 




N. C. " 


tt 


3. 


N. C. " 


a 



I. Sec. 3, 



4. 
5. 

6. 

7. 
8. 

9. 



1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 



U.S. 

a 5. 

N. C. 

U.S. 

a i. 

N.C. 
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a. 6. 

U.S. 
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III. 

II. 

II. 

I. 

III. 
II. 

III. 
III. 
II. 

II. 



Page 54 



U. S. Const. Art. II. 
U.S. " " II. 
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N.C. " " IV. 
N.C. " " IV. 
N. C. Revisal of 1905. 
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N.C. Revisal of 1905. 



11. 

19. 

18. 

2, 

1. 
1, 

2. 

12. 

1, 

2, 



Sec. 2. 

2. 

1. 

4. 
" 21. 
" 21. 
" 4628. 
" 31. 
" 12. 
« 4628. 



[219] 



220 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 









Page 


55 






Page 60 






1. 


N. C. Const. Art 


. III. Sec. 


13. 


1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 


VLSec. 


4,5. 




N.C. 


" 


a 


IV. " 


25. 


2. 


U. S. " Preamble. 




2. 


U.S. 
CI. 3. 


u 


tt 


II. " 


2, 


3. 


U.S. " Art. ' 
U. S. " 


VII. 
V. 




3. 


U.S. 
CI. 4. 


a 


tt 


I. " 


2, 


4. 


U.S. " 


V. 




4. 


NX. 


a 


a 


II. " 


13. 




Page 61 






5. 


U.S. 


a 


<( 


X. Amend. 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


V. 




G. 


U.S. 


it 


a 


VI.C1. 


2. 










7. 

8. 


N.C. 
U.S. 

N.C. 
U.S. 


tt 
a 
a 

a 


I.Sec. 
VI.C1. 
I.Sec. 
Preamble. 


3. 
2. 
3. 


1. 


Page 62 

Chisholm vs. Georgia. 2 Dallas, 
U. S. Reports, 419. 


9. 


U.S. 
U.S. 


tt 
it 


a 
Art. 


II. Sec. 


2, 




Page 67 








CI. 2. 










1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 


LSec. 


8. 




U.S. 


u 


tt 


VI.C1. 


2. 


2. 


N. C. * 


IV. " 


3,4. 




U.S. 


u 


a 


IILSec. 


2, 


3. 


N. C. " 


IV. " 


3,4. 




CI. 1. 










4. 


N. C. " 


IV. " 


3,4. 


10. 


U.S. 
CI. 1, 


3. 


tt 


LSec. 


10, 


5. 


N. C. " 


II. " 


2. 




U.S. 


a 


a 


IV. " 


1. 




Page 68 






11. 


U.S. 


a 


a 


I. " 


8, 


1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 


IILSec. 


9. 




CI. 3. 










2. 
' 3. 


N. C. " 
N. C. " 


II. " 
VI. " 


7,8. 
1,2. 








Page 


56 




4. 


N. C. " 


I. " 


35. 


1. 


1ST. C. Co ist. Art 


XIILSec. 


1. 










2. 


N.C. 


a 


" 


XIII. " 


1. 




Page 69 






1. 
2. 


N.C. 
N.C. 


.rage 

Const. Art 


57 

IILSec. 
II. " 


1. 
27. 


1. 
2. 


N. C. Const. Art. XlV.Sec. 
U.S. " " I. " 
CI. 3. 


6. 
2, 








Page 


58 












1. 


N. C. Co ist. Art 


I.Sec. 


4. 




Page 70 






2. 


N.C. 


a 


« 


III. " 


1. 


1. 


N. C. Const, Art. 


ILSec. 


4. 


3. 


N.C. 


n 


a 


III. " 


1. 


2. 
3. 


N. C. " 

N. C. " 


II. " 
II. " 


4. 
9. 








Page 


59 




4. 


N.C. " 


II. " 


13. 


1. 


N. C. Const. Art 


IILSec. 


1, 










2. 


N.C. 


a 


a 


IV. " 


21. 


i 


Page 71 






3. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


IV. " 


21. 


1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 


ILSec. 


16. 


4. 


N.C. 


a 


tt 


II. " 


28. 


2. 


N. C. " 


II. " 


17. 


5. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


II. " 


28. 


3. 


N. C. " 


II. " 


22. 


6. 


N.C. 


a 


tt 


II. " 


28. 


4. 


N. C. " 


II. " 


23. 




N.C. 


it 


tt 


III. * 


9. 


5. 


N. C. " 


II. " 


24. 


7. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


VII. " 


4. 


G. 


N. C. " » 


II. " 


26. 



REFERENCES 



221 



Page 72 

1. N. C. Const. Art. 

2. N.C. " 

3. N.C. " 

4. N.C. " 

5. N. C. " 



IILSe*. 11. 
II. " 19. 
II. " 20. 
II. "18,20. 
II. " 18. 



Page 73 

1. N.C. Const. Art. IILSec. 3. 

2. N. C. " M III. " 3. 

Page 74 

1. N.C. Const. Art. IILSec. 3. 

2. N. C. " " IV. " 3, 4. 

3. N. C. " " IV. " 4 

4. N. C. " " IV. " 3! 

Page 75 

1. Mial vs. Ellington, 134 N. C. 
Report, p. 131. 

2. Taylor vs. Beckham, 178 U. S. 
Report, p. 577. 

3. N. C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 9. 

Page 76 

1. N. C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 14. 

2. N. C. " " IV " 12 

3. N.C. " " IV. " 12 

4. N. C. " " I. " 23. 

Page 77 

1. N. C. Const. Art. Il.Sec. 

2. N.C. " " II " 

3. N. C. " " II « 

4. N.C. " u II. « 

5. N. C. " u VIIL " 

Page 78 

1. N. C. Const. Art. Vl.Sec. 

2. N.C. " " Hi. " 

Page 80 
1. N. C. Const. Art. IILSec. 



10. 
11. 
11. 
11. 
1. 



18. 
15. 



2. N. C. Revisal of 1905, 

3. N. C. Const. Art. III. 

4. N. C. " " in. 

5. N. C. " " HI 

6. N. C. " " in. 



1. 
5326. 
1. 
1. 
1. 
4. 



Page 81 
1. N. C. Const. Art. IILSec. 4. 



2. N. C. 

3. N. C. 

4. N. C. 

5. N. C. 

6. N.C. 

7. N. C. 
N.C. 



III. 
III. 
III. 
III. 

I. 

I. 

I. 



3. 

3. 

3. 

3. 

8. 
36. 
21. 



Page 82 



1. N. C. Const. Art. 

2. N. C. " * 

3. N.C. " 

4. N. C. * 

5. N. C. " " 

6. N. C. " " 
N. C. " " 
N. C. " « 
Ewart vs. Jones, 
port, p. 571. 
N. C. Const. Art, 
Sec. 21. 

N. C. Const. Art. 
N. C. " 
N. C. " 



i. 
8. 
9. 

10. 



IILSec. 
XIV. " 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 

III. " 
116 N.C. Re- 

IV. Sec. 30; 

Vl.Sec. 6. 

II. " 1,3,5. 

III. w 1. 



5. 
6. 
5. 
5. 

7. 

7. 

7. 

10. 



Page 83 



1. N. C. Const. Art, 

2. N. C. " u 

3. U. S. " 

4. U. S. " " 
CI. 4. 

5. N. C. " " 
N. C. " u 

6. N.C. " " 



IV.Sec. 25. 

III. « 13. 

XVII. Amend. 

I.Sec. 2, 



III. 
XII. 
XII. 



8. 
3. 
3. 



7. Winslow vs. Morton, 118 N. C. 
Report, p. 486. 

8. N. C. Const. Art. XII. Sec. 2, 4. 

Page 84 

1. N. C. Const. Art. IILSec. 6. 

2. N. C. " " in. « 14 . 



222 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



1. 

2. 
3. 

4. 
5. 


Page 85 
N. C. Const. Art. 
N. C. " 
N.C. " 
N. C. " " 
N. C. " 
N.C. " 


Ill.See. 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 
III. " 


12. 
•12. 
2. 
11. 
11. 
12. 


1. 

2. 
3. 


Page 95 
N. C. Const. Art. 

N. C. " 
N. C. " 


IX.Sec. 
IX. " 
IX. « 


8 

9. 

10 


1. 


Page 101 
N. C. Const. Art. 


IV.Sec. 


2 



Page 102 
1. N. C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 3. 

Page 103 
1. N. C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 6. 

Page 106 

1. N.C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 21. 

2. N. C. " " IV. " 10. 

Page 107 

1. N. C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 12. 
N. C. Revisal 1905. " 1502. 

2. N.C. " " IV. " 12. 
N. C. Revisal of 1905. " 1500. 





Page 111 






1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 


IV.Sec. 


23 


2. 


N. C. " 


IV. " 


2 


3. 


N. C. " 


IV. " 


30 


4. 


N. C. " 


IV. " 


14 



Page 112 
1. N. C. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 27. 

Page 116 

1. N. C. Const. Art. I.Sec. 27. 

2. N.C. " " IX. " 1. 



Page 122 

1. N.C. Const. Art. VIILSec. 4. 

2. N. C. " " VII. " 7. 

3. N.C. " " VII. " 9. 

Page 123 



1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 




V.Sec. 


1. 


2. 


N.C. 


a a 




V. " 


1. 






Page 129 






1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 




I.Se«. 


1. 


2. 


U.S. 


a a 




I. " 


1. 


3. 


U.S. 
CI. 2. 


t( a 




I. " 


4, 


4. 


U.S. 


(( t( 




II. " 


3. 






Page 130 






1. 


U.S. 
CI. 1. 


Const. Art. 




I.Sec. 


3, 


2. 


U.S. 

CI. 2. 


a a 




I. " 


3, 


3. 


U.S. 


a a 




I. " 


3, 


4. 


U.S. 
CI. 1. 


a (t 




I. « 


4, 


5. 


U.S. 


a a 




I. " 


4. 


6. 


U.S. 


a « 


XVII. Amend. 






Page 131 






1. 


U.S. 


Const. Art. 




I.Sec. 


3. 


5. 


U.S. 


a a 




II. " 


2. 


3. 


U.S. 


a (( 




I. " 


2. 


4. 


U.S. 


(( a 


XIV. Amend. 


5. 


U.S. 


(( a 




I.Sec. 


2. 




U.S. 


a (( 


XrV Amend. 


6. 


U.S. 


a a 




I.Sec. 


2. 



Page 132 

1. U. S. Const. Art. IV.Sec. 3. 

2. U. S. " " I. " 4. 

3. U f S. " " I. " 2. 

4. Act of Congress, Jan. 16, 1901. 



Page 133 

1. U. S. Const. Art. 



I.Sec. 









REFERENCES 








223 






Page 134 






8. 


U. S. " 


it 


I. 


- 


8, 


1. U.S. Const. Art. 1 


.Sec. 


o 




CI. 8. 










CI. 5. 










9. 


U. S. " 


it 


I. 




8, 


2. U.S. 


u 


a i 


« 


3, 




CI. 9. 










CI. 4. 










10. 


U.S. " 


u 


I. 


" 


8, 


3. U.S. 


it 


a ] 


« 


3, 




CI. 10. 










CI. 5. 

4. U. S. 

CI. 1. 


tt 


« i 


a 


7, 


11. 

12. 


U.S. " 
CI. 11. 
U.S. * 




I. 
I. 


u 


8, 
8, 


5. U. S. 
CI. 2. 


ii 


Page 135 


<€ 


7, 


13. 


CI. 12. 
U. S. " 
CI. 13. 


Page 138 


I. 


'* 


8, 


1. U. S. Const. Art. 


[.Sec. 


7, 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


I.Sec. 


8, 


CI. 3. 












CI. 14. 










2. U. S. 


a 


ii 


« 


5, 


2. 


U.S. " 


a 


I. 


a 


8, 


CI. 2. 












CI. 15. 










3. U. S. 


a 


ii 


M 


3, 


3. 


U.S. " 


tt 


I. 


a 


8, 


Cl.G. 












CI. 16. 




















4. 


U.S. " 


a 


I. 


it 


8, 






Page 136 








CI. 17. 










1. U. S. ( 


^onst. Art. 


[.Sec 


2, 


0. 


U.S. " 


u 


I. 


tt 


8, 


CI. 5. 












CI. 18. 










2. U. S. 


u 


n 


a 


3, 


6. 


U.S. " 


u 


I. 


a 


9, 


CI. 6. 












CI. 2. 










3. U. S. 


(( 


a 


a 


3, 


7. 


U. S. " 


tt 


I. 


a 


9, 


CI. 7. 












CI. 3. 










4. U. S. 


a 


u XVI] 


'.. Amend. 


8. 


U.S. " 


n 


I. 


a 


9, 


5. U. S. 


a 


ii 


[.Sec. 


9 




CI. 4. 










CI. 4. 














Page 139 












Page 137 






1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


I. 


a 


9, 


1. U. S. Const. Art. 


I.Sec. 


8, 




CI. 5. 










CI. 1. 










2. 


U. S. " 


" 


I. 


a 


9, 


2. U.S. 


u 


a 


r ii 


8, 




CI. 6. 










CI. 2. 










3. 


U.S. " 


a 


I. 


a 


9, 


3. U.S. 


a 


t( 


[. M 


8, 




CI. 7. 










CI. 3. 










4. 


U. S. " 


a 


I. 


tt 


9, 


4. U. S. 


ii 


a 


[. '* 


8, 




CI. 8. 










CI. 4. 

5. U. S. 


a 


(C 


r " 


8, 


1. 


Page 141 
U. S. Const. Art. 


Ill.Sec. 


3, 


CI. 5. 












CI. 2. 










6. U. S. 


a 


H 


r " 


8, 














CI. 6. 














Page 143 








7. U. S. 


a 


it 


r a 


8, 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


II.Se< 


1, 


CI. 7. 












CI. 1. 











224 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 





Page 145 








Pag 


e 166 




1. 


U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 


1, 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art, 


VI. Cl. 2- 




CI. 3. 




2. 


•U.S. 


a 


a 


I. Sec. 8, 




Page 150 






CI. 3. 








1. 


U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 


2, 






Pag 


e 16; 


1 




CI. 2. 




1. 


U. S.Con . Art, 


IV.Sec. 3, 










Cl.l. 






3. 




Page 151 




2. 


U.S. 


a 


u 


II. " 2. 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 


2, 


3. 


U.S. 


it 


a 


I. « 8. 




CI. 3. 




4. 


U.S. 


tt 


tt 


I. " 8, 


2. 


U.S. " " II. " 


3. 




CI. 17. 














5. 


U.S. 


tt 


tt 


I. " 8, 




Page 152 






CI. 17. 








1. 


U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 
CI. 1. 


2, 


6. 


U.S. 

CI. 18. 


(t 


tt 


I. " 8. 


2. 


U.S. " " I. " 


8, 


7. 


U.S. 


»< 


a 


X . Amend 




CI. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16. 




8. 


U.S. 


it 


tt 


XI. Amend. 


3. 


U.S. " " II. " 
CI. 1. 


2, 






Page 168 








1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


IV.Sec. 3- 


1. 


Page 153 

U. S. Const. Art. l.Sec. 
CI. 3. 

Benjamin Harrison in 
Country of Ours." 


7, 


2. 
3. 
4. 


U.S. 

u. s 

U.S. 


a 
ft 
a 


a 
a 
it 


IV. " 3- 

I. " 9. 

IV. " 4. 


2. 


"This 


5. 
6. 


U.S. 
U.S. 
CI. 3. 


it 
tt 


tt 
a 


V. 
III. " 2, 




Page 154 








Pag 


e 165 


) 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 


2, 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


I. Sec. 10, 




CI. 2. 






CI. 3. 














2. 


U.S. 


it 


a 


I. " 10, 




Page 155 






CI. 3. 








1. 


U. S. Const. Art, VI. 


CI. 2. 


3. 


U.S. 


tt 


" XIV. Amend. 


2. 


U.S. " " I. Sec. 


10, 


4. 


U.S. 


tt 


" XV. Amend. 




CI. 1. 








Pasr 


e 170 




3. 


Chinese Exclusion Case, 
Report, p. 720. 


u. s 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 
CI. 1. 


I. Sec. 10, 




Page 160 




2. 


U.S. 
CI. 1. 
U.S. 
CI. 1. 

U.S. 


u 


tt 


I. " 10, 


1. 
2. 


U. S. Const. Art. Ill . Sec. 
U.S. " " III. " 
CI. 1. 


1. 

2, 


3. 

4. 


it 
it 


u 

tt 


I. " 10, 
I. " 10, 




Page 161 






a i. 








1. 


U. S. Const. Art. III. Sec. 
CI. 2. 


2, 


5. 


U.S. 
Cl. 1. 


u 


tt 


I. " 10, 








6. 


u. s. 


tt 


<t 


IV. " 1. 




Page 165 




7. 


U.S. 


tt 


tt 


IV. " 2. 


1 


U. S. Const. Art. m.Sec. 
CI. 3. 


2, 


8. 


U.S. 
C1.1. 


tt 


tt 


I. " 10, 



REFERENCES 



225 



Page 179 

1. N. C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 5. 

2. U.S. " " VI. a. 2. 
3 .U.S. " " II. " 1, 

CI 5 
4. U.S.* " " XIV. CI. 1, 
Amend. 

Page 181 

1. U. S. Const. Art. I. Sec. 8, 





CI. 4. 










2. 


U.S. 
Amend. 


M 


(I 


XIV. 


CI. 1, 


3. 


U.S. 

a 5. 


it 


u 


n.Sec. 


1, 


4. 


N. C. 


tc 


a 


III. " 


2. 


5. 


N.C. 


u 


a 


III. " 


2. 


6. 


N. C. 


11 


11 


III. " 


12. 


7. 


N. C. 


u 


u 


VI. « 


1. 


8. 


U.S. 

a i. 


(C 


(C 


I. " 


2, 



Page 182 



I. Sec. 



2, 



1. U. S. Const. Art, 
Q. 1. 

2. U.S. " " XV. Amend. 

3. N.C. " " VI. Sec. 1. 

Page 183 

1. U. S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 1. 
CI. 5. 

2. U.S. " " I. " 3. 

3. U. S. Const. " I. « 2, 
CI. 2. 

n. a " " n. u 7. 

4. N. C. " " VI. " 4. 

5. N.C. " "VI. " 4. 

6. N.C. " " VI. " 4. 

7. N.C. " " VI. " 4. 

Page 184 

1 . N.C. Const. Art. XlV.Sec. 7. 

2. N.C. " " XIV. " 7. 

Page 185 

1. N. C. Const. Art. VI. Sec. 8. 



Page 187 

1 . Bouvier's Law Dictionary. 

2. Blackstone. 

3. Minor. 

Page 188 

1. U. S. Const. Art. I. Sec. 6. 

2. N.C. " " I. " 26 

Page 189 

1. N.C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 26. 

2. U.S. " " I. Amend. 

3. State vs. Linklaw, 69 N. C. Re- 
port, p. 214. 

Page 190 

1 . I . Guizot, Rep. Gov. Lect. 6. 

2. N.C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 1. 

Page 191 

1. Bouvier. 

2. N.C. Const. Art, 



1. 



I. Sec. 
Page. 192 

1. N.C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 1. 

2. Renant Old, 119, N. C. Report, 
p. 1. 

Cannon ttf.Fairbrother, 118, N. C. 
Report, p. 406. 

Page 194 

1. Phelps vs. Steamboat Company, 
131 N. C. Report, p. 12. 
Logan vs. Railroad, 116, N. C. 
Report, p. 940. 

2. N.C. Const. Art. I. Sec. 26. 

Page 196 

1. N. C. C«nst.Art. I. Sec. 10. 

2. N.C. " " I. " 28. 

3. N.C. " " I. " 20. 

4. N.C. ' " I. " 26. 

5. N.C. " " I. " 7. 

6. N.C. " " I. " 30. 

7. N.C. " " I. " 31. 

8. N.C. " " I. " 36. 

9. N.C. " " I. M 17. 



226 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 







Page 


197 








Pag 


e202 


1. 


N.C. 


Const. Art 


I. Sec. 11. 


1 


N.C. 


Const. Art. I.Sec. 25. 


2. 


N. C. 


u 


tt 


1. 


" 14. 




U.S. 


tt 


" I. Amend. 


3. 


N.C. 


tt 


it 


I. 


12. 


2. 


N.C. 


tt 


I.Sec. 25. 


4. 


N.C. 


a 


it 


I. 


15. 




U.S. 


n 


I. Amend. 


5. 


N.C. 


ft 


it 


I. 


18. 


3. 


N.C. 


tt 


I.Sec. 10. 


6. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


21. 


4. 


N.C. 


tt 


I. " 29. 


7. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


32. 


5. 


N.C. 


tt 


I. " 3. 






Page 198 








Page 203 


1. 


N.C. 


Const. Art 


I. Sec. 35. 


1. 


N. C. Const. Art. 1 .Sec. 19. 


2. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


13. 


2. 


U.S. 


it 


" XIV. CI. 1, 


3. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


19. 




Amend. 




4. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


22. 


3. 


U.S. 


tt 


" XIV. " 1, 


5. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


33. 




Amend. 
















4. 


U.S. 


tt 


" IV. Amend. 






Pate 19Q 






N.C. 


tt 


I.Sec. 15. 














5. 


U.S. 


tt 


" VI. Amend. 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


IX. 


Amend. 




N.C. 


tt 


" I. "Sec. 11. 


2. 


U.S. 


<< 


tt 


II. 


tt 


6. 


U.S. 


tt 


" V. Amend. 


3. 


U.S. 


tt 


tt 


X. 


tt 




N.C. 


tt 


I.Sec. 12. 


4. 


U.S. 


ft 


tt 


I. 


tt 


7. 


U.S. 
N.C. 


tt 
tt 


" VI. Amend. 
" I.Sec. 11. 






Page 200 












1. 


U. S. Const. 


Art. 


ni. 


Amend. 






Page 


204 


2. 


U.S. 


tt 


" XIV. 


CI. 1, 


1. 


N.C. 


Const. Art. I.Sec. 13. 




Amend. 








2. 


U.S. 


tt 


I. " 9, 


3. 


U.S. 


tt 


u 


VII. 


Amend. 




a. 2. 






4. 


U.S. 


tl 


tt 


IV. 


tt 




N.C. 


tt 


I. " 21. 


5. 


U.S. 


a 


u 


v. 


tt 


3. 


U.S. 
N.C. 


tt 
tt 


" VIH. Amend. 
I. Sec. 14. 






Page 201 




4. 


U.S. 


tt 


" V. Amend. 


1. 


U. S. Const. Art. 


VI. 


Amend. 






Page 


5 205 


2. 


U.S. 


u 


n ~ 


rai. 


tt 








3. 


U.S. 


tt 


tt 


I.Sec. 


1. 


U.S. 


Const. 


Art. IV. Amend. 




CI. 3. 












N.C. 


a 


I.Sec. 15. 


4 


U.S. 

a. 2. 


tt 


tt 


i. 


9, 


2. 


U.S. 
N.C. 


tt 


" m. Amend. 
I.Sec. 36. 


5. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


i. 


" 26. 


3. 


U.S. 


tt 


" V. Amend. 




U.S. 


tt 


n 


i. 


Amend. 




N.C. 


tt 


" I.Sec. 17. 


6. 


N.C. 


tt 


it 


I.Sec. 26. 












U.S. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


Amend. 






Page 


206 


7. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I.Sec. 25. 












U.S. 


tt 


tt 


I. 


Amend. 


1. 


N.C. 


Const. Art. I.Sec. 17. 


8. 


N.C. 


tt 


tt 


I.Sec. 20. 


2. 


U.S. 


tt 


V. Amend. 



REFERENCES 



227 



Page 208 

1 . N. C. Const. Art. I .Sec. 13. 

2. N.C. " " IV. " 5. 

Page 210 

1. N. C. Const. Art. XI. Sec. 1. 

Page 211 

1. N. C. Const. Art. XI. Sec. 1. 

2. U.S. " " III. " 3, 
Q. 1. 

Page 212 
1. U. S. Const. Art. III. Sec. 3, 
a 2. 



Page 213 

1. U.S. Const. Art. II. Sec. 4. 

2 . U. S. vs. Eaton, 144 U. S. Report, 
p. 677. 

Page 214 

1 . State vs. Davis, 159 N. C. Report, 
p. 548. 

Page 217 
1 . Jefferson's Inaugural Address. 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 



Preamble 



We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, 
the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union 
and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging 
our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our 
posterity, do for the more certain security thereof, and for the better govern- 
ment of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution: 

ARTICLE I. — Declaration of Rights 

That the great, general and essential principles of liberty and free govern- 
ment may be recognized and established, and that the relations of this State 
to the Union and Government of the United States, and those of the people 
of this State to the rest of the American people, may be defined and affirmed, 
we do declare: 

Section 1. That we hold it to be self-evident that all men are created 
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; 
that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own 
labor, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Sec. 2. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people; 
all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will 
only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole. 

Sec. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole and exclusive 
right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering 
and abolishing their constitution and form of government whenever it may 
be necessary for their safety and happiness; but every such right should be 
exercised in pursuance of law, and consistently with the Constitution of the 
United States. 

Sec. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union; 
that the people thereof are a part of the American nation; that there is no 

[229] 



230 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



right on the part of the State to secede, and that all attempts, from whatever 
source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, 
ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State. 

Sec. 5. That every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the 
Constitution and Government of the United States, and that no law or ordinance 
of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force. 

Seo. 6. The State shall never assume or pay, or authorize the collection 
of any debt or obligation, expressed or implied, incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation 
of any slave; nor shall the General Assembly assume or pay, or authorize the 
collection of any tax to pay, either directly or indirectly, expressed or implied, 
any debt or bond incurred, or issued, by authority of the Convention of the 
year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, nor any debt or bond, incurred 
or issued by the Legislature of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
eight, at its special session of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
eight, or at its regular sessions of the years one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-eight and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine and one thousand 
eight hundred and seventy, except the bonds issued to fund the interest on 
the old debt of the State, unless the proposing to pay the same shall have 
first been submitted to the people and by them ratified by the vote of a majority 
of all the qualified voters of the State, at a regular election held for that purpose. 

Sec. 7. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate emolu- 
ments or privileges from the community but in consideration of public services. 

Sec. 8. The legislative, executive and supreme judicial powers of the 
government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other. 

Sec. 9. All power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any 
authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious 
to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. 

Sec. 10. All elections ought to be free. 

Sec. 11. In all criminal prosecutions, every man has the right to be informed 
of the accusation against him and to confront the accusers and witnesses with 
other testimony, and to have counsel for his defence, and not be compelled 
to give evidence against himself or to pay costs, jail fees, or necessary witness 
fees of the defence, unless found guilty. 

Sec. 12. No person shall be put to answer any criminal charge, except as 
hereinafter allowed, but by indictment, presentment or impeachment. 

Sec. 13. No person shall be convicted of any crime but by the unanimous 
verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open court. The Legislature may, 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 231 

however, provide other means of trial for petty misdemeanors, with the right 
of appeal. 

Sec. 14. Excessive bail should not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. 

Sec. 15. General warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be com- 
manded to search suspected places, without evidence of the act committed, 
or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offence is not particularly 
described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not 
to be granted. 

Sec. 16. There shall be no imprisonment for debt in this State, except in 
cases of fraud. 

Sec. 17. No person ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his free- 
hold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner deprived 
of his life, liberty or property, but by the law of the land. 

Seo. 18. Every person restrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy to 
enquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the same, if unlawful; 
and such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed. 

Sec. 19. In all controversies of law respecting property, the ancient mode 
of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights of the people and ought 
to remain sacred and inviolable. 

Sec. 20. The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, 
and therefore ought never to be restrained, but every individual shall be held 
responsible for the abuse of the same. 

Sec. 21. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. 

Sec. 22. As political rights and privileges are not dependent upon, or modified 
by, property, therefore no property qualification ought to affect the right to 
vote or hold office. 

Sec. 23. The people of the State ought not to be taxed, or made subject to 
the payment of any impost or duty without the consent of themselves, or their 
representatives in General Assembly freely given. 

Sec. 24. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; 
and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought 
not to be kept up, and the military should be kept under strict subordination to, 
and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein contained shall justify 
the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the Legislature from 
enacting penal statutes against said practice. 

Sec. 25. The people have a right to assemble together to consult for their 
common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the Legislature 



232 CIVIL GOVERNMENT ^ 

for redress of grievances. But secret political societies are dangerous to the 
liberties of a free people, and should not be tolerated. 

Sec. 26. All men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty 
God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and no human authority 
should, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience. 

Sec. 27. The people have the right to the privilege of education, and it is 
the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right. 

Sec. 28. For redress of grievances, and for amending and strengthening 
the laws, elections should be often held. 

Sec. 29. A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles Is absolutely 
necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 

Sec. 30. No hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors ought to be granted 
or conferred in this State. 

Sec. 31. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free 
State, and ought not to be allowed. 

Sec. 32. Retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the existence 
of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are oppressive, unjust and 
incompatible with liberty; wherefore no ex post facto law ought* to be made. 
No law taxing retrospectively sales, purchases, or other acts previously done, 
ought to be passed. 

Sec. 33. Slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than for crime, whereof 
the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be and are hereby forever 
prohibited within the State. 

Sec. 34. The limits and boundaries of the State shall be and remain as 
they now are. 

Sec. 35. All courts shall be open; and every person for an injury done 
him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course 
of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay. 

Sec. 36. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house witnout 
the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 37. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or 
deny others retained by the people; and all powers not herein delegated remain 
with the people. 

ARTICLE II. — Legislative Department 

Section 1. The legislative authority shall be vested in two distinct branches, 
both dependent on the people, to-wit, a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet biennially 
on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January next after their 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTE CAROLINA 233 

election; and, when assembled, shall be denominated the General Assembly. 
Neitker House shall proceed upon public business unless a majority of all the 
members are actually present. 

Sec. 3. The Senate shall be composed of fifty Senators, biennially chesen 
by ballot. 

Sec. 4. The Senate Districts shall be so altered by the General Assembly, 
at the first session after the return of every enumeration by order of Congress, 
that each Senate District shall contain, as near as may be, an equal number 
of inhabitants, excluding aliens and Indians not taxed, and shall remain un- 
altered until the return of another enumeration, and shall at all times consist 
of contiguous territory; and no county shall be divided in the formation of a 
Senate District, unless such county shall be equitably entitled to two or more 
Senators. 

Sec. 5. The House of Representatives shall be composed of one hundred 
and twenty Representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by the 
counties respectively, according to their population, and each county shall 
have at least one representative in the House of Representatives, although 
it may not contain the requisite ratio of representation; this apportionment 
shall be made by the General Assembly at the respective times and periods 
when the Districts of the Senate are hereinbefore direGted to be laid off. 

Sec. 6. In making the apportionment in the House of Representatives, the 
ratio of representation shall be ascertained by dividing the amount of the 
population of the State, exclusive of that comprehended within those counties 
which de not severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the 
population of the State, by the number of Representatives, less the number 
assigned to such counties; and in ascertaining the number of the population 
of the State, aliens and Indians not taxed shall not be included. To each county 
containing the said ratio and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned 
one Representative; to each county containing two but not three times the 
said ratio, there shall be assigned two Representatives, and so on progressively, 
and then the remaining Representatives shall be assigned severally to the 
counties having the largest fractions. 

Sec. 7. Each member of the Senate shall not be less than twenty-five years 
of age, shall have resided in the State as a citizen two years, and shall have 
usually resided in the District for which he is chosen, one year immediately 
preceding his election. 

Sbc. 8. Each member of the House of Representatives shall be a qualified 
elector of the State, and shall have resided in the county for which he is chosen, 
for one year immediately preceding his election. 



234 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Sec. 9. In the election of all officers, whose appointment shall be conferred 
upon the generally Assembly by the Constitution, the vote shall be viva voce. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall have the power to pass general laws 
regulating divorce and alimony, but shall not have power to grant a divorce 
or secure alimony in any individual case. 

Sec. 11. The General Assembly shall not have power to pass any private 
law to alter the name of any person, or to legitimate any person not born in 
lawful wedlock, or to restore to the rights of citizenship any person convicted 
of an infamous crime, but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the 
same. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall not pass any private law, unless it 
shall be made to appear that thirty days' notice of application to pass such a 
law shall have been given, under such direction and in such manner as shall be 
provided by law. 

Sec. 13. If vacancies shall occur in the General Assembly by death, resig- 
nation or otherwise, writs of election shall be issued by the Governor under 
such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 14. No law shall be passed to raise money on the credit of the State, 
or to pledge the faith of the State, directly or indirectly, for the payment of 
any debt, or to impose any tax upon the people of the State, or allow the counties, 
cities or towns to do so, unless the bill for the purpose shall have been read 
three several times in each House of the General Assembly and passed three 
several readings, which readings shall have been on three different days, and 
agreed to by each House respectively, and unless the yeas and nays on the 
second and third readings of the bill shall have been entered on the journal. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall regulate entails in such manner as to 
prevent perpetuities. 

Sec. 16. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, which shall 
be printed and made public immediately after the adjournment of the General 
Assembly. 

Sec. 17. Any member of either House may dissent from and protest against 
any act or resolve, which he may think injurious to the public, or any individual, 
and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journal. 

Sec. 18. The House of Representatives shall choose their own Speaker and 
other officers. 

Sec. 19. The Lieutenant-Governor shall preside in the Senate, but shall 
have no vote unless it may be equally divided. 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 235 

Sec. 20. The Senate shall choose its other officers and also a Speaker 
(pro tempore) in the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, or when he shall 
exercise the office of Governor. 

Sec. 21. The style of the acts shall be: "The General Assembly of North 
Carolina do enact. " 

Sec. 22. Each House shall be judge of the qualifications and election of 
its own members, shall sit upon its own adjournment from day to day, prepare 
bills to be passed into laws; and the two Houses may also jointly adjourn to 
any future day or other place. 

Sec. 23. All bills and resolutions of a legislative nature shall be read three 
times in each House, before they pass into laws; and shall be signed by the 
presiding officer of both Houses. 

Sec. 24. Each member of the General Assembly, before taking his seat, 
shall take an oath or affirmation that he will support the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, 
and will faithfully discharge his duty as a member of the Senate or House of 
Representatives, 

Sec 25. The terms of office for Senator and members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall commence at the time of their election. 

Sec. 26. Upon motion made and seconded in either house by one-fifth of 
the members present, the yeas and nays upon any question shall be taken and 
entered upon the journals. 

Sec. 27. The election for members of the General Assembly shall be held 
for the respective districts and Counties, at the places where they are now held, 
or may be directed hereafter to be held, in such manner as may be prescribed 
by law, on the first Thursday in August, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and seventy, and every two years thereafter. But the General Assembly may 
change the time of holding the elections. 

Sec. 28. The members of the General Assembly for the term for which 
they have been elected shall receive as a compensation for their services the 
sum of four doUars per day for each day of their session, for a period not ex- 
ceeding sixty days; and should they remain longer in session, they shall serve 
without compensation. They shall also be entitled to receive ten cents per mile, 
both while coming to the seat of government and while returning home, the 
said distance to be computed by the nearest line or route of public travel. 
The compensation of the presiding officers of the two Houses shall be six dollars 
per day and mileage. Should an extra session of the General Assembly be 
called, the members and presiding officers shall receive a like rate of compensa- 
tion for a period not exceeding twenty days. 



236 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

"Sec. 29. The General Assembly shall not pass any local, private or 
special act or resolution: 

"Relating to the establishment of courts inferior to the Superior 
Court ; 

"Relating to the appointment of justices of the peace; 

"Relating to health, sanitation and the abatement of nuisances; 

"Changing the names of cities, towns and townships: 

"Authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, maintaining or dis- 
continuing of highways, streets or alleys: 

"Relating to ferries or bridges: 

"Relating to non-navigable streams: 

"Relating to cemeteries: 

"Relating to the pay of jurors: 

"Erecting new townships, or changing township lines, or establishing 
or changing the lines of school districts: 

"Remitting fines, penalties and forfeitures, or refunding moneys legally 
paid into the public treasury: 

"Regulating labor, trade, mining or manufacturing: 

"Extending the time for the assessment or collection of taxes' or 
otherwise relieving any collector of taxes from the due performance of 
his official duties or his securities from liability: 

"Giving effect to informal wills and deeds: 

"Nor shall the General Assembly enact any such local, private or spec- 
ial act by the partial repeal of a general law, but the General Assembly 
may at any time repeal local, private or special laws enacted by it. 

"Any local, private or special act or resolution passed in violation of 
the provisions of this section shall be void. 

"The General Assemfely shall have power to pass general laws regu- 
lating matters set out in this section." 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTE CAROLINA 237 



ARTICLE III. — Executive Department 

Section 1. The Executive Department shall consist of a Governor, in whom, 
shall be vested the supreme executive power of the State, a Lieutenant-Go ver nor 
a Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public In- 
struction, and an Attorney-General, who shall be elected for a term of four 
years by the qualified electors of the State, at the same time and places and in 
the same manner as members of the General Assembly are elected. Their 
term of office shall commence on the first day of January next after their election, 
and continue until their sucessors are elected and qualified: Provided, that the 
officers first elected shall assume the duties of their office ten days after the 
approval of this Constitution by the Congress of the United States, and shall 
hold their offices four years from and after the first day of January. 

Sec. 2. J^o person shall be eligible as Governor or Lieutenant-Governor 
unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall have been a citizen 
of the United States five years, and shall have been a resident of this State for 
two years next before the election; nor shall the person elected to either of 
these two offices be eligible to the same office more than four years in any term 
of eight years, unless the office shall have been cast upon him as Lieutenant- 
Governor or President of the Senate. 

Sec. 3. The return of every election for officers of the Executive Depart- 
ment shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government by the 
returning officers, directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
who shall open and publish the same in the presence of a majority of the mem- 
bers of both Houses of the General Assembly. The person having the highest 
number of votes respectively shall be declared duly elected; but if two or more 
be equal and highest in votes for the same office, the one of them shall be chosen 
by joint ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly. Contested elections 
shall be determined by a joint ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly 
in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. The Governor, before entering upon the duties of his office shall, 
in the presence of the members of both branches of the General Assembly, or 
before any Justice of the Supreme Court, take an oath or affirmation that he 
will support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the State 
of North Carolina, and that he will faithfully perform the duties appertaining 
to the office of Governor, to which he has been elected. 

Sec. 5. The Governor shall reside at the seat of government of this State, 
and he shall, from time to time, give the General Assembly information of the 



238 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

affairs of the State, and recommend to their consideration such measures as 
he shall deem expedient. 

Sec. 6. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations 
and pardons, after conviction, for all offences (except in cases of impeachment), 
upon such conditions as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as 
may provided be by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. He 
shall biennially communicate to the General Assembly each case of reprieve, 
commutation or pardon granted, stating the name of each convict, the crime 
for which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, the date of the commuta- 
tion, pardon or reprieve and the reasons therefor. 

Sec. 7. The officers of the Executive Department and of the public institu- 
tions of the State, shall at least five days previous to each regular session of the 
General Assembly, severally report to the Governor, who shall transmit such 
reports with his message to the General Assembly, and the Governor may, at any 
time, require information in writing from the officers in the Executive Depart- 
ment upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

Sec. 8. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the militia of the State, 
except when they shall be called into the service of the United States. 

Sec, 9. The Governor shall have power, on extraordinary occasions, by and 
with the advice of the Council of State ; to convene the General Assembly in 
extra session by his proclamation, stating therein the purpose or purposes for 
which they are thus convened 

Sec. 10. The Governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of a majority of the Senators-elect, appoint all officers whose offices are 
established by this Constitution and whose appointments are not otherwise 
provided for. 

Sec. 11. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be president of the Senate, but 
shall have no vote unless the Senate shall be equally divided. He shall, 
whilst acting as President of the Senate, receive for his services the same pay 
which shall, for the same period, be allowed to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives; and he shall receive no other compensation except when he 
is acting as Governor. 

Sec 12. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his failure to qualify, 
his absence from the State, his inability to discharge the duties of his office, or, 
in case the office of Governor shall in anywise become vacant, the powers, duties 
and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor until 
the disability shall cease, or a new Governor shall be elected and qualified. In 
every case in which the Lieutenant-Governor shall be unable to preside over the 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTE CAROLINA 239 

Senate, the Senators shall elect one of their own number President of their body ; 
and the powers, duties and emoluments of the office of Governor shall devolve 
upon him whenever the Lieutenant-Governor shall, for any reason, be preven- 
ted from discharging the duties of such office as above provided, and he shall 
continue as acting Governor until the disabilities are removed, or a new Gov- 
ernor or Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected and qualified. Whenever, during 
the recess of the General Assembly, it shall become necessary for the President of 
the Senate to administer the government, the Secretary of State shall convene 
the Senate, that they may elect such President. 

Sec. 13 The respective duties of the Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Attorney-General shall be prescribed 
by law. If the office of any of said officers shall be vacated by death, resigna- 
tion or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the Governor to appoint another until 
the disability be removed or his successor be elected and qualified. Every 
such vacancy shall be filled by election at the first general election that occurs 
more than thirty days after the vacancy has taken place, and the person chosen 
shall hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term fixed in the first 
section of this article. 

Sec. 14, The Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer and Superintendent 
of Public Instruction shall constitute, ex officio, the Council of State, who shall 
advise the Governor in the execution of his office, and three of whom shall 
constitute a quorum. Their advice and proceedings in this capacity shall be 
entered in a journal to be kept for this purpose exclusively, and signed by the 
members present, from any part of which any member may enter his dissent; 
and such journal shall be placed before the General Assembly when called for 
by either House. The Attorney-General shall be, ex officio, the legal adviser 
of the Executive Department. 

Sec. 15. The officers mentioned in this article, shall, at stated periods, receive 
for their services a compensation to be established by law, which shall neither 
be increased nor diminished during the time for which they shall have been elec- 
ted, and the said officers shall receive no other emolument or allowance what- 
ever. 

Sec. 16. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Gov- 
ernor," and used by him as occasion may require, and shall be called "The Great 
Seal of the State of North Carolina." All grants and commissions shall be issued 
in the name and by the authority of the State of North Carolina, sealed with 
"The Great Seal of the State/' signed by the Governor and countersigned by 
the Secretary of State. 



240 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Sec. 17. The General Assembly shall establish a Department of Agriculture^ 
Immigration and Statistics, under such regulations as may best promote the 
agricultural interests of the State, and shall enact laws for the adequate pro- 
tection and encouragement of sheep husbandry. 

AKTICLE IV.— Judicial Department. 

Section 1. The distinctions between actions at law and suits in equity, and 
the forms of all such actions and suits, shall be abolished; and there shall be in 
this State but one form or action for the enforcement or protection of private 
rights or the redress of private wrongs, which shall be denominated a civil 
action; and every action prosecuted by the people of the State as a party against 
a person charged with a public offense, for the punishment of the same, shall be 
termed a criminal action. Feigned issues shall also be abolished, amd the fact 
at issue tried by order of Court before a jury. 

Sec. 2. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a court for the trial 
of Impeachments, a Supreme Court, Superior Courts, Courts ©f Justices of the 
Peace, and such other Courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be estab- 
lished by law. 

Sec. 3. The Court for the trial of Impeachments shall be the Senate. A 
majority of the members shall be necessary to a quorum, and the judgment 
shall not extend beyond removal from, and disqualification to hold, office in this 
State; but the party shall be liable to indictment and punishment according 
to law. 

Sec. 4. The House of Representatives solely shall have the power of im- 
peaching. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
of the Senators present. When the Governor is impeached, the Chief Justice 
shall preside. 

Sec. 5. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against 
it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall 
be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open Court. No conviction of treason or attain- 
der shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture. 

Sec. 6. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four Asso- 
ciate Justices. 

Sec. 7. The terms of the Supreme Court shall be held in the city of Raleigh, 
as now, unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 8. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction to review, upon appeal, 
any decision of the Courts below, upon any matter of law or legal inference. 
And the jurisdiction of said Court over "issues of fact" and "questions of fact" 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 241 



shall be the same exercised by it before the adoption of the Constitution 
of one thousand eight hundred' and sixty-eight, and the Courts shall have 
the power to issue and remedial writs necessary to give it a general 
supervision and control over the proceedings of the Inferior Courts. 

Sec. 9. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction to hear 
claims' against the State, but its decisions shall be merely recommenda- 
tory; no process in the nature of execution shall issue thereon; they 
shall be reported to the next session of the General Assembly for its action. 

Sec. 10. The State shall be divided' into nine judicial districts, far each 
of which a judge shall be chosen; and there shall be held a Superior 
Court in each county at least twice in each year, to continue for such 
time in each county as may be prescribed by law. But the General 
Assembly may reduce or increase the number of districts. 

Sec. 11. Every Judge of the Superior Court shall reside in the district 
for which he is elected. The Judges shall preside in the Courts of the dif- 
ferent districts successively, but no Judge shall hold the Courts in the 
same district oftener than once in four years; but in ease of the pro- 
tracted illness of the Judge assigned to preside in any district, or of any 
other unavoidable accident to him, by reason of which he shall be unable 
to preside, the Governor may require any Judge to hold one or more 
specified terms in said district, in lieu of the Judge assigned' to hold the 
Courts of the said district: and the General Assembly may by general 
laws provide for the selection of special or emergency judges to hold the 
superior courts of any county ©r district, when the judge assigned thereto 
by reason of sickness, disability, or other cause, is unable to attend and 
hold said court, and when no other judge is available to hold the same. 
Such special er emergency judges shall have the power and authority of 
regular judges of the superior courts, in the court* which they are so 
appointed to hold; and the General Assembly shall provide for their 
reasonable compensation. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall have no power t-o deprive the Ju- 
dicial Department of any power or jurisdiction which rightfully pertains 
to it as a co-crdinate department of the government; but the General 
Assembly shall allot and distribute that portion of this power and juris- 
diction which does not pertain to the Supreme Court, among the other 
Courts prescribed in this Constitution or which may be established by 
law, in such manner as it may deem best; provide also a proper system 
of appeals, and regulate by law, when necessary, the methods of proceed- 



242 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

ing in the exercise of their powers, of all the Courts below the Supreme 
Court, so far as the same may be done without conflict with other pro- 
visions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 13. In all issues of fact, joined in any Court, the parties may 
waive the right to have the same determined by a jury, in which case the 
finding of the Judge upon the facts shall have the force and' effect of a 
verdict by a jury. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall provide for the establishment of 
Special Courts, for the trial of misdemeanors, in cities and towns where 
the same may be necessary. 

Sec. 15. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the 
Court, and shall hold his office for eight years. 

Sec. 16. A Clerk of the Superior Court for each county shall be elected 
by the qualified voters thereof, at the time and in the manner prescribed 
by law for the election of members of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 17. Clerks of the Superior Courts shall hold their offices for four 
year3. 

Sec. 18. The General Assembly shall prescribe and regulate the fees, 
salaries and emoluments of all officers provided for in this article; but 
the salaries of the Judges shall not be diminished during their continu- 
ance in office. 

Sec. 19. The laws of North Carolina, not repugnant to this Constitu- 
tion, or the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be in force 
until lawfully altered. 

Sec. 20. Actions at law, and suits in equity, pending when this Con- 
stitution shall go into effect, shall be transferred to the Courts having 
jurisdiction thereof, without prejudice by reason of the change, and all 
such actions' and suits commenced before, and' pending at the adoption by 
the General Assembly of the rules of practice and procedure herein pro- 
vided for, shall be heard and determined according to the practice now 
in use, unless otherwise provided for by said rules. 

Sec. 21. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the 
qualified voters of the State, as is provided for the election of members 
of the General Assembly. They shall hold their offices for eight years. 
The Judges of the Superior Courts, elected at the first election under this 
amendment, shall be elected in like manner as is provided for Justices of 
the Cupreme Court, and shall hold their offices for eight years. The 
General Assembly may, from time to time, provide by law that the 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 243 

Judges of the Superior Courts, chosen at succeeding elections', instead of 
being elected by the voters of the whole State, as is herein provided for, 
shall be elected by the voters' of their respective districts. 

Sec. 22. The Superior Court shall be at all times open for the trans- 
action of all business within their jurisdiction, except the trial of issues 
of fact* requiring a jury. 

Sec. 23. A Solicitor shall be elected for each Judicial District by the 
qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for members of the General As- 
sembly, who shall hold office for the term of four years, and prosecute 
on behalf of the State, in all criminal actions in the Superior Courts, 
and advise the officers of justice in his district. 

Sec. 24. In each county a Sheriff and Coroner shall be elected.' by the 
qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for members of the General As- 
sembly, and shall hold their offices for two years. In each township tnere 
shall be a Constable elected in like' manner by the voters thereof, who 
shall hold his office for two years. When there is no Coroner in a 
county, the Clerk of the Superior Court for the county may appoint one 
for special cases. In case of a vacancy existing for any cause in any 
of the offices created by this section, the Commissioners of the county 
may appoint to such office for the unexpired term. 

Sec. 25. All vacancies occurring in the offices provided for by this 
Article of the Constitution shall be filled by the appointments of the 
Governor, unless otherwise provided for, and the appointees shall hold 
their places until the next regular election for members of the General 
Assembly, when elections shall be held! to fill such offices. If any person, 
elected or appointed to any of said offices, shall neglect and fail to 
qualify, such offices shall be appointed to, held and filled as provided in 
case of vacancies occurring therein. All incumbents of said office shall 
hold until their successors are qualified. 

Sec. 26. The officers elected at the first -election held under this Con- 
stitution shall hold' their offices for the terms prescribed for them respec- 
tively, next ensuing after the next regular election for members of the 
General Assembly. But their terms shall begin upon the approval of this 
Constitution by the Congress of the United States. 

Sec. 27. The several Justices of the Peace shall have jurisdiction, under 
such regulations as the General Assembly shall prescribe, of civil actions, 
founded on contract, wherein the sum demanded shall not exceed two 
hundred dollars, and wherein the title to real estate shall not be in con- 



244 CIVIL COVERXZIEWT 

troversy; and of all criminal matters arising within their counties where 
the punishment cannot exceed' a fine of fifty dollars or imprisonment for 
thirty days. And the General Assembly may give to Justices of the 
Peace jurisdiction of other civil actions, wherein the value of the prop- 
erty in controversy does not exceed fifty dollars. When an issue of fact 
shall be joined before a Justice, on demand of either party thereto, he 
shall cause a jury of six men to be summoned, who shall try the same. 
The party against whom judgment shall be rendered in any civil action, 
may appeal to the Superior Court from the same. In all cases of a 
criminal nature, the party against whom judgment is given may appeal 
to the Superior Court, where the matter shall be heard anew. In all 
cases brought before a justice, he shall make a record of the proceedings 
and file the same with the Clerk of the Superior Court for his county. 

Sec. 28. When the office of Justice of the Peace shall become vacant 
otherwise than by expiration of the term, and in case of a failure by 
the voters of any district to elect, the Clerk of the Superior Court for 
the county shall appoint to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. 

Sec. 29. In case the office of Clerk of a Superior Court for a county 
shall become vacant otherwise than by the expiration of the term, and 
in case of a failure by the people to elect, the Judge of the Superior 
Court for the county shall appoint to fill the vacancy until an election 
can be regularly held. 

Sec. 30. In case the General Assembly shall establish other Courts in- 
ferior to the Supreme Court, the presiding officers and clerks thereof 
shall be elected in such manner as the General Assembly may from time 
to time prescribe, and they shall hold their offices for a term not ex- 
ceeding eight years. 

Sec. 31. Any Judge of the Supreme Court or of the Superior Courts, 
and the presiding officers of such Courts inferior to the Supreme Court as 
may be established by law, may be removed from office for mental or 
physical inability, upon a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of both 
Houses of the General Assembly. The Judge or presiding officer, against 
whom the General Assembly may be about to proceed, shall receive notice 
thereof, accompanied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at 
least twenty days before the day on which either House of the General 
Assembly shall act thereon. 

Sec. 32. Any Clerk of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior Courts, or 
of such Courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established by 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTE' CAROLINA 245 

law, may be removed from office for mental or physical inability; the 
Clerk of the Supreme Court by the Judges of said' Court, the Clerks of 
the Superior Courts by the Judge riding the district, and the Clerks of 
such Courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be established by law 
by the presiding officers of said Courts. The CleTk against whom pro- 
ceedings are instituted shall receive notice thereof, accompanied by a 
copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the 
day appointd to act thereon, and the Clerk shall be entitled' to an appeal 
to the next term of the Superior Court, and thence to the Supreme Court 
as provided in other cases of appeals. 

Sec. 33. The amendments made to the Constitution of North Carolina 
by this Convention shall not have the effect to vacate any office or term 
of office now existing under the Constitution of the State and filled, or 
held by virtue of any election or appointment under the said Constitution 
and the laws of the State made in pursuance thereof. 

ARTICLE V. — Revenue and Taxation 

Section 1. The General Assembly shall levy a capitation tax on every 
male inhabitant in the State over twenty-one and under fifty years of 
age, which shall be equal on each to the tax on property valued at three 
hundred dollars each. The Commissioners of the several counties' may 
exempt from capitation tax in special cases, on account of poverty and 
infirmity, and the State and county capitation tax combined shall never 
exceed two dollars on the head. 

Sec. 2. The proceeds' of the State and county capitation tax shall be 
applied to the purposes of education and the support of the poor, but in 
no one year shall more than twenty-five per cent thereof be appropriated 
to the latter purpose. 

Sec. 3. Laws shall be passed taxing, by a uniform rule, all moneys, 
credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock companies, or other- 
wise ; and, also, all real and personal property, according to its true value 
in money. The General Assembly may also tax trades, professions, fran- 
chises, and incomes, provided that no income shall be taxed when the 
property from which the income is derived is taxed. 

Sec. 4. Until the bonds of the State shall be at par, the General As- 
sembly shall have no power to contract any new debt or pecuniary obli- 
gation in behalf of the State, except to supply a casual deficit, or for 
suppressing invasions or insurrections, unless it shall in the same bill 



246 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

levy a special tax to pay the interest annually. And the General As- 
sembly skall have no power to give or lend the credit of the State in 
aid of any person, association or corporation, except to aid' in the com- 
pletion of such railroads as may be unfinished at the time of the adop- 
tion of this Constitution, or in which the State has a direct pecuniary in- 
terest, unless the subject be submitted to a direct vote of the people of the 
State, and be approved by the majority of those who shall vote thereon. 

Sec. 5. "Property belonging to the State, or to municipal corporations, 
shall be exempt from taxation. The General Assembly may exempt ceme- 
teries and property held for educational, scientific, literary, charitable or 
religious purposes; also wearing apparel, arms for muster, household 
and kitchen furniture, the mechanical and agricultural implements of 
mechanics and farmers, libraries and scientific instruments or any other 
personal property, to a value not exceeding three hundred dollars. 

Sec. 6. The taxes levied by the commissioners of the several counties 
for county purposes shall be levied in like manner with the State taxes 
and shall never exceed the double of the State tax, except for a special 
purpose, and with the special approval of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 7. Every act of the General Assembly levying a tax shall state the 
special object to which it is to be applied, and it shall be applied to no 
other purpose. 

ARTICLE VI. — Suffrage and Eligibility to Office 
Section 1. Every male person born in the United States, and every 
male person who has been naturalized, twenty-one years of age, and 
possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to 
vote at any election by the people in the State, except as herein other- 
wise provided. 

Sec. 2. He shall have resided in the State of North Carolina for two 
years, in the county six months, and in the precinct, ward or other elec- 
tion district, in which he offers to vote, four months next preceding the 
election: Provided, that removal from one precinct, ward or other elec- 
tion district, to another in the same county, shall not operate to deprive 
any person of the right to vote in the precinct, ward or other election 
district from which he has removed until four months after such re- 
moval. No person who has been convicted or who has confessed his guilt 
in open Court upon indictment, of any crime, the punishment of which 
now is, or may hereafter be imprisonment in the State's Prison shall 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 247 

be permitted to vote unless the said person shall be first restored to 
citizenship in the manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 3. Every person offering to vote shall be at the time a legally 
registered voter as herein prescribed and in the manner hereafter pro- 
vided by law, and the General Assembly of North Carolina shall enact 
general registration laws to carry into effect the provisions of this 
article. 

Sec. 4. Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able 
to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English lan- 
guage; and before he shall be entitled to vote, he shall have paid, on or 
before the first day of May of the year in which he proposes to vote, his 
poll tax for the previous year as prescribed by Article V, sec. 1, of the 
Constitution. But no male person who was on January 1, 1867, or at 
any time prior thereto, entitled to vote under the laws of any State in 
the United States wherein he then resided, and no lineal descendant of 
any such person shall be denied the right to register and vote at any 
election in this State by reason of his failure to possess the educational 
qualifications herein prescribed: Provided, he shall have registered in 
accordance with the terms of this section prior to December 1, 1908. The 
General Assembly shall provide for the registration of all persons en- 
titled to vote without the educational qualifications herein prescribed, 
and shall, on or before November 1, 1908, provide for the making of a 
permanent record of such registration, and all persons so registered shall 
forever thereafter have the right to vote in all elections by the people in 
this State, unless disqualified under section 2 of this Article: Provided, 
such person shall have paid his poll tax as above required. 

Sec. 5. That this amendment to the Constitution is presented and 
adopted as one indivisible plan for the regulation of the suffrage, with 
the intent and purpose to so connect the different parts and to make 
them so dependent upon each other that the whole shall stand or fall 
together. 

Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot, and all elections 
by the General Assembly shall be viva voce. 

Sec. 7. Every voter in North Carolina, except as in this Article dis- 
qualified, shall be eligible to office, but before entering the duties of the 
office he shall take and subscribe the following oath : 

"I, do solemnly swear ( or affirm ) that I will support and 

maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Con- 



248 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



stitution and laws of North Carolina not inconsistent therewith, and 

that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office as 

So help me, God." 

Sec. 8. The following classes of persons shall be disqualified for office : 
First, all persons who shall deny the being of Almighty God. Second, all 
persons who shall have been convicted or confessed their guilt on indict- 
ment pending, and whether sentenced or not, or under judgment sus- 
pended, of any treason or felony, or of any other crime for which the 
punishment may be imprisonment in the penitentiary, since becoming 
citizens of the United States, or of corruption or malpractice in office, 
unless such person shall be restored to the rights of citizenship in a 
manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 9. That this amendment to the Constitution shall go into effect 
on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and two, if a majarity of votes 
cast at the next general election shall be cast in favor of this suffrage 
amendment. 

ARTICLE VII. — Municipal Corporations 

Section 1. In each county there shall be elected biennially by the 
qualified voters thereof, as provided for the election of members of the 
General Assembly, the following officers: A Treasurer, Register of 
Deeds, Surveyor and five Commissioners. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners to exercise a general 
supervision and control of the penal and charitable institutions, schools, 
road's, bridges, levying of taxes, and finances of the county, as may be 
prescribed by law. The Register of Deeds shall be, ex officio, Clerk of 
the Board of Commissioners. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners first elected in each 
county to divide the same into convenient districts, and to report the 
same to the General Assembly before the first day of January, 1869. 

Sec. 4. Upon the approval of the reports provided for in the foregoing 
section by the General Assembly, the said districts shall have corporate 
powers for the necessary purposes of local government, and' shall be 
known as townships. 

Sec. 5. In each township there shall be biennially elected by the quali- 
fied voters thereof a Clerk and two Justices of the Peace, who shall con- 
stitute a Board of Trustees, and shall, under the supervision of the 
County Commissioners, have control of the taxes and finances, roads and 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 249 

bridges of the township, as may be prescribed by law. The General As- 
sembly may provide for the election of a larger number of the Justices 
of the Peace in cities and towns and in those townships in which cities 
and towns are situated. In every township there shall also be biennially 
elected' a School Committee, consisting of three persons, whose duties' 
shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. The Township Board of Trustees shall assess the taxable prop- 
erty of their townships and make returns to the County Commissioners 
for revision, as may be prescribed by law. The Clerk shall be, ex officio, 
Treasurer of the township. 

Sec. 7. No county, city, or town or other municipal corporation shall 
contract any debt, pledge its faith or loan its credit, nor shall any tax be 
levied or collected by any officers of the same except for the necessary ex- 
penses thereof, unless by vote of the majority of the qualified voters 
therein.. 

Sec. 8. No money shall be drawn from any county or township treasury 
except by authority of law. 

Sec. 9. All taxes levied by any county, city, town or township shall be 
uniform and ad valorem upon all property in the same, except property 
exempted' by this Constitution. 

Sec. 10. The county officers first elected under the provisions of this 
Article shall enter upon their duties ten days after the approval of this 
Constitution by the Congress of the United States. 

Sec. 11. The Governor shall appoint a sufficient number of Justices of 
the Peace in each county, who shall hold their places until sections four, 
five and six of this Article shall have been carried into effect. 

Sec. 12. All charters, ordinances and provisions relating to municipal 
corporations shall remain in force until legally changed, unless incon- 
sistent with the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 13. No county, city, town or other municipal corporation shall 
assume to pay, nor shall any tax be levied or collected for the payment 
of any debt, or the interest upon any debt, contracted directly or indi- 
rectly in aid or support of the rebellion. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall have full power by statute to 
modify, change, or abrogate any and all of the provisions of this Article 
and substitute others in their place except sections seven, nine ana' 
thirteen. 



250 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

ARTICLE VIII. — Corporations Other Than Municipal. 

Section 1. No corporation shall be created nor shall its charter be ex- 
tended, altered, or amended by special act, except corporations for chari- 
table, educational, penal, or reformatory purposes that are to be and 
remain under the patronage and control of the State; but the General 
Assembly shall provide by general laws for the chartering and organi- 
zation of all corporations and for amending, extending, and forfeiture 
of all charters, except those above permitted by special act. All such 
general laws and special acts may be altered from time to time or 
repealed; and the General Assembly may at any time by special act 
repeal the charter of any corporation." 

Sec. 2. Dues from corporations shall foe secured by such individual 
liabilities of the corporations and other means as may be prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. 3. The term corporation, as used in this Article, shall be con- 
strued to include all associations and joint- stock companies having any 
of the powers and privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals 
or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right to sue and 
shall be subject to be sued in all courts in like cases as natural persons. 

Sec. 4. "It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide by general 
laws for the organization of cities, towns, and incorporated villages, and 
to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, con- 
tracting debts', and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in as- 
sessment and in contracting debts by such municipal corporations." 

ARTICLE IX?— Education 
Sectiojjt 1. Religion, morality and kaowledge being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means ef edu- 
cation shall forever be encouraged. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly, at its first session under this Constitu- 
tion, shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform 
system of public schools, wherein tuition shall be free of charge to all 
the children of the State between the ages of six and twenty-one years. 
And the children of the white race and the children of the colored race 
shall be taught in separate public schools; but there shall be no dis- 
crimination in favor of or to the prejudice of either race. 

Sec. 3. Each county of the State shall be divided into a convenient 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 251 

number of districts, in which one or more public schools shall be main- 
tained at least four months in every year; and if the Commissioners of 
any county shall fail to comply with the aforesaid requirements of this 
section they shall be liable to indictment. 

Sec. 4. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be 
granted by the United States to this State and not otherwise appropri- 
ated by this State or the United States; also all moneys, stocks, bonds 
and other property now belonging to any State fund for purposes of edu- 
cation; also the net proceeds of all sales of the swamp lands belonging 
to the State, and.' all other grants, gifts or devises that have been or here- 
after may be made to the State and not otherwise appropriated by the 
State or by the terms of the grant, gift or devise, shall be paid into the 
State Treasury; and, together with so much of the ordinary revenue of 
the State as may be by law set apart for that purpose, shall be faithfully 
appropriated for establishing and maintaining in this State a system of 
free public schools and for no other uses or purposes whatsoever. 

Sec. 5. All moneys, stocks, bonds and other property belonging to a 
county school fund; also the net proceeds from the sale of estrays; also 
the clear proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures and' of all fines col- 
lected in the several counties for any breach of the penal or military 
laws of the State; and all moneys which shall be paid by persons as an 
equivalent for exemption from military duty, shall belong to and remain 
in the several counties, and shall be faithfully appropriated for estab- 
lishing and maintaining free public schools in the several counties in 
this State: Provided, that the amount collected in each county shall be 
annually reported to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall have power to provide for the elec- 
tion of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, in whom, when 
chosen, shall be vested' all the privMeges, rights, franchises and endow- 
ments thereof in anywise granted to or conferred upon the Trustees of 
said University; and the General Assembly may make such provisions, 
laws and regulations from time to time as may be necessary and ex- 
pedient for the maintenance and management of said University. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of the 
University, as far as practicable, be extended to the youth of tke State 
free of expense for tuition; also that all the property which has hereto- 
fore accrued to the State or shall hereafter accrue from escheats, un- 



252 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

claimed dividend's or distributive shares of the estates of deceased per- 
sons, shall be appropriated to the use of the University. 

Sec. 8. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treas- 
urer, Auditor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Attorney-General 
shall constitute a State Board of Education. 

Sec. 9. The Governor shall be President and the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction shall be Secretary of the Board of Education. 

Sec. 10. The Board of Education shall succeed' to all the powers and 
trusts of the* President and Directors of the Literary Fund of North 
Carolina, and shall have full power to legislate and make all needful 
rules and regulations in relation to free public schools and the educa- 
tional fund of the State; but all acts, rules and regulations of Said Board 
may be altered, amended or repealed by the General Assembly, and when 
so altered, amended or repealed they shall not be re-enacted by the Board. 

Sec. 11. The first session cf the Board of Education shall be held at 
the capital of the State within fifteen days after the organization of the 
State Government under this Constitution; the time of future meetings 
may be determined by the Board. 

Sec. 12. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business. 

Sec. 13. The contingent expenses of the Board shall be provided by the 
General Assembly. 

Sec. 14. As soon as practicable after the adoption of this Constitution 
the General Assembly shall establish and maintain in connection with 
the University a department of agriculture, of mechanics, of mining and! 
of normal instruction. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly is hereby empowered to enact that every 
child of sufficient mental and physical ability -shall attend the public 
schools during the period between the ages of six and eighteen years for 
a term of not less than sixteen months, unless educated by other means. 

ARTICLE X. — Homesteads and Exemptions 
Section 1. The personal property of any resident of this State to the 
value of &ve hundred dollars, to be selected by such resident, shall be 
and is hereby exempted from sale under execution or other final process 
of any court issued for the collection of any debt. 

Sec. 2. Every homestead, and the dwellings and buildings used there- 
with, not exceeding in value one thousand' dollars, to be selected by the 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 253 

owner thereof, or in lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in 
a city, town or village, with the dwellings and buildings used thereon, 
owned and occupied by any resident of this State, and not exceeding the 
value of one thousand dollars, shall be exempt from sale under execution 
or other final process obtained on any debt. But no property shall be 
exempt from sale for taxes or for payment of obligations contracted for 
the purchase of said premises. 

Sec. 3. The homestead, after the death of the owner thereof, shall be 
exempt from the payment of any debt during the minority of his children 
or any one of them. 

Sec. 4. The provisions of sections one and two of this Article shall not 
be so construed as to prevent a laborer's lien for work done and per- 
formed for the person obtaining such exemption, or a mechanic's lien for 
work done on the premises. 

Sec. 5. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow but no chil- 
dren, the same shall be exempt from the debts of her husband, and the 
rents and profit thereof shall inure to her benefit during her widowhood, 
unless she be the owner of a homestead in her own right. 

Sec. 6. The real and personal property of any female in this State 
acquired before marriage, and all property, real and' personal, to which 
she may, after marriage, become in any manner entitled, shall be and 
remain the sole and separate estate and property of such female, and 
shall not be liable for any debts, obligations or engagements of her 
husband, and may be devised and bequeathed, and, with the written 
assent of her husband, conveyed by her as if she were unmarried. 

Sec. 7. The husband may insure his own life for the sole use and bene- 
fit of his wife and children, and in case of the death of the husband the 
amount thus insured shall be paid over to the wife and children, or to 
the guardian if under age, for her or their own use, free from all the 
claims of the representatives of her husband or any of his creditors. 

Sec. 8. Nothing contained in the foregoing sections of this Article shall 
operate to prevent the owner of a homestead from disposing of the same 
by deed; but no deed made by the owner of a homestead shall be valid 
without the voluntary signature and assent of his wife, signified on her 
private examination according to law. 

ARTICLE XL — Punishments, Penal Institutions and Public 

Charities. 
Section 1. The following punishments only shall be known to the laws 
of this State, viz. : death, imprisonment with or without hard 1 labor, fines, 



254 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust or profit under this State. The foregoing provision for im- 
prisonment with hard labor shall be construed to authorize the employ- 
ment of such convict labor on public works or highways, or other labor 
for public benefit, and the farming out thereof, where and in such manner 
as may be provided by law; but np convict shall be farmed out who has 
been sentenced on a charge of murder, manslaughter, rape, attempt to 
commit rape, or arson: Provided, that no convict whose labor may be 
farmed out shall be punished for any failure of duty as a laborer except 
by a responsible officer of this State ; but the convicts so farmed out shall 
be at all times under the supervision and control, as to their government 
and discipline, of the Penitentiary Board or some officer of the State. 

Sec. 2. The object of punishment being not only to satisfy justice, but 
also to reform the offender, and thus prevent crime, murder, arson, 
burglary and rape, and these only, may be punishable with death, if the 
General Assembly shall so enact. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall, at its' first meeting, make pro- 
vision for the erection and' conduet of a State's Prison or Penitentiary 
at some central and accessible point within the State. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly may provide for the erection of a House 
of Correction, where vagrants and persons guilty of misdemeanors shall 
be restrained and usefully employed. 

Sec. 5. A House or Houses of Refuge may be established whenever the 
public interests may require it, for the correction and instruction of 
other classes of offenders. 

Sec. 6. It shall be required by competent legislation that the structure 
and superintendence of penal institutions of the State, the county jails 
and city police prisons secure the health and comfort of the prisoners, 
and that male and female prisoners be never confined in the same room 
or cell. 

Sec. 7. Beneficent provisions for the poor, the unfortunate and orphan 
being one of the first duties of a civilized and Christian State, the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall, at its first session, appoint and define the duties of 
a Board of Public Charities, to whom shall be entrusted the supervision 
of all charitable and penal State institutions, and who shall annually 
report to the Governor upon their condition, with suggestions for their 
improvement. 

Sec. 8. There shall also, as soon as practicable, be measures d'evised by 
the State for the establishment of one or more orphan houses, where 



CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 255 

destitute orphans may be cared for, educated and taught some business 
or trade. 

Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, as soon as practicable, 
to devise means for the education of idiots and inebriates. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly may provide that the indigent deaf mute, 
blind and insane, of the State shall be cared for at the charge of the State. 

Sec. 11. It shall be steadily kept in view by the Legislature and the 
Board of Public Charities, that all penal and charitable institutions 
should be made as nearly self-supporting as is consistent with the pur- 
poses of their creation. 

ARTICLE XII.— Militia 

Section 1. All able-bodied male citizens of the State of North Caro- 
lina, between the ages of twenty-one and forty years, who are citizens of 
the United States, shall be liable to do duty in the militia: Provided, 
that all persons who may be averse to bearing arms, from religious 
scruples, shall be exempt therefrom. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall provide for the organizing, arming, 
equipping and discipline of the militia, and for paying the same, when 
called into active service. 

Sec. 3. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief, and shall have 
power to call out the militia to execute the law, suppress riots or insur- 
rections, and to repel invasion. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall have power to make such exemp- 
tions as may be deemed necessary, and enact laws that may be expedient 
for the government of the militia. 

ARTICLE XIII.— Amendments 

Section 1. No convention of the people of this State shall ever be called 
by the General Assembly, unless by the concurrence of two-thira's of all 
the members of each House of the General Assembly, and except the 
proposition, Convention or No Convention, he first submitted to the quali- 
fied voters of the whole State, at the next general election in a manner 
to be prescribed by law. And should a majority of the votes cast be in 
favor of said convention, it shall assemble on such day as may be pre- 
scribed by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 2. No part of the Constitution of this State shall be altered unless 
a bill to alter the same shall have been agreed to by three-fifths of each 
House of the General Assembly. And the amendment or amendments so 



256 CIVIL GOVERNMEX'. 



agreed to shall be submitted at the next general election to the qualified 
voters of the whole State, in such a manner as may be prescribed by law. 
And in the event of their adoption by a majority of the votes cast, such 
amendment or amendments shall become part of the Constitution of the 
State. 

ARTICLE XIV.— Miscellaneous 

Section 1. All indictments which shall have been found, or may here- 
after be found, for any crime or offense committed before this Constitu- 
tion takes effect, may be proceeded upon in the proper Courts, but no 
punishment shall be inflicted which is forbidden by this Constitution. 

Sec. 2. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist in the same 
as a second, or send, accept, or knowingly carry a challenge therefor, or 
agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall hold any office in this 
State. 

Sec. 3. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law; and an accurate account of the receipts 
and expenditures of the public money shall be annually published. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall provide, by proper legislation, for 
giving to mechanics and laborers an adequate lien on the subject matter 
of their labor. 

Sec. 5. In the absence of any contrary provision, all officers of this 
State, whether heretofore elected, or appointed by the Governor, shall 
hold their positions only until other appointments are made by the Gov- 
ernor, or if the officers are elective, until their successors shall have been 
chosen and duly qualified according to the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 6. The seat of government of this State shall remain at the city 
of Raleigh. 

Sec. 7. No person, who shall hold any office or place of trust or profit 
under the United States, or any department thereof, or under this State 
or under any other State or Government, shall hold or exercise any other 
office or place of trust or profit under the authority of this State, or be 
eligible to a seat in either House of the General Assembly : Provided, that 
nothing herein contained shall extend to officers in the militia, Justices 
of the Peace, Commissioners of Public Charities, or Commissioners for 
special purposes. 

Sec. 8. All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between 
a white person and white person of negro descent to the third generation 
inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. 



CONSTITUTION 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



PREAMBLE 



We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America: 

AKTICLE I — Legislative Department 

Congress 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

House of Representatives 

Section 2 — 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age 
of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free per- 
sons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding In- 
dians not taxedj three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall 
be made within three years after the first meeting of the CoDgress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner 
as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Repre- 
sentative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hamp- 
shire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and 

[257] 



258 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, 
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, 2Vort/i Carolina 
five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the exe- 
cutive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers 
and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Senate 

Section 3 — 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and 
each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The 
seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
tion of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the 
fourth year, and of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year, so 
that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by 
resignation or otherwise during the recess of the legislature of any State, the 
executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President fro 
tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office 
of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the Presi- 
dent of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall, never- 
theless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punish- 
ment, according to law. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES 259 



Both Houses 

Section 4 — 1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Sena- 
tors and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regula- 
tions, except as to the place of choosing Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting 
shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a 
different day. 

The Houses Separately 

Section 5 — 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members 
for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time 
publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require se- 
crecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question 
shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Privileges and Disabilities of Members 

Section 6 — 1. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compen- 
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of the Treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach 
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session 
of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and 
for any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

2. No senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elec- 
ted, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been 
increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the United 
States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. 



260 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Mode of Passing Laws 

Section 7 — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United 
States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objec- 
tions, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the ob- 
jections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such re- 
consideration two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, 
together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be 
reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house it shall become a law. 
But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and 
nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by 
the President within ten day's (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been pre- 
sented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, 
unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it 
shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of ad- 
journment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before 
the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by 
him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Powers Granted to Congress 

Section 8. The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and 
provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but 
all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, 
and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights a^ad measures; 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES 261 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
rent coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited 
times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings 
and discoveries; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas 
and offences against the law of nations; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules con- 
cerning captures on land and water; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrection, and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United 
States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and 
the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by 
Congress; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such dis- 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the 
United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the 
consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection 
of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution 
in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Powers Denied to the United States 

Section 9 — 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the 
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or 
duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 



262 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be paid, unless in proportion to the 
census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to' be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or 
from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appro- 
priations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts 
and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind what- 
ever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Powers Denied to the States 

Section 10 — 1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confedera- 
tion; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any 
bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, 
or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties 
on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any 
State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United 
States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Con- 
gress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty or tonnage, 
keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or com- 
pact with another State or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually 
invaded or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

AKTICLE II. — Executive Department 

President and Vice-President 

Section 1 — 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 263 

years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elec- 
ted as follows: 

2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Repre- 
sentatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator 
or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United 
States, shall be appointed as elector. 

3. (The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for 
two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State 
with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and 
of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and trans- 
mit sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and Homse of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes 
shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall 
be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have 
an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, 
then from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner choose 
the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, 
the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a ma- 
jority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after 
choice of the President, the 'person having the greatest number of votes of the 
electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more 
who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice- 
President.)* 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the day 
on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout 
the United States. 

5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office 
of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident 
within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resig- 
nation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the 

*This clause has been amended. See Amendments, Art. XII. 



264 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide 
for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President 
and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such 
officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President shall 
be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
tion, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which 
he may have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other 
emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the following 
oath or affirmation: 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of 
President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, 
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Powers of the President 

Section 2 — 1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States when called 
into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in 
writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any 
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power 
to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he 
shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint ambassadors other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the 
Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

Duties of the President 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES 265 

as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasion 
convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between 
them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public 
ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall 
commission all the officers of the United States. 

Impeachment 

Section 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of trea- 
son, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE m. — Judicial Department 

United States Courts 

Section 1. The judicial powers of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time 
to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

Jurisdiction of the United States Courts 

Section 2 — 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, 
or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassa- 
dors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and mari- 
time jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a 
party; to controversies between two or more states; between a State and citi- 
zen of another State; between citizens of different States; beteween citizens 
of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States and between 
a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects.* 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have ori- 
ginal jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned the Supreme Court 
shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions 
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

*This clause has been amended. See Amendments, Art. .XI 



266 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury, and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial 
shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Treason 

Section 3 — 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and com- 
fort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but 
no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture except dur- 
ing the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. — Interstate Relations. 

State Records 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress 
may by genera] laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and pro- 
ceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Privileges of Citizens, Etc. 

Section 2 — 1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shaft flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the 
executive authority of the State from which he fled, he delivered up, to be 
removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of 
the party to whom such service or labor may be due.* 

New States and Territories 

Section 3 — 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other 

*See Amendments, Art. XIV 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES 267 

State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States or parts 
of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well 
as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to pre- 
judice any claims of the United States or of any particular State. 

Guarantee to the States 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against inva- 
sion, and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legis- 
lature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 1 — Power of Amendment 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislature of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which in either case shall be valid to all intents and pur- 
poses as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or by conventions in tnree-fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress, pro- 
vided that no amendments which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses 
in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. — Public Debt, Supremacy of the Constitution, Oath of 
Office, Religious Test 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Con- 
stitution as under the confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made 
in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the 
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or 
laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 



268 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of 
the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of 
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirma- 
tion to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required 
as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. — Ratification of the Convention 

The ratification of the convention of nine States shall be sufficient for the 
establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 

seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 

hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States 

of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed 

our names. 

George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 
New Hampshire— -John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 
Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 
Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 
New York — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey — William Livingston, David Brearly, William Patterson, Jona- 
than Dayton. 
Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George 

Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur 

Morriso 
Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard 

Bassett, Jacob Broom. 
Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. 
Virginia — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 
South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles 

Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 
Georgia — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary. 



AMENDMENTS 
ARTICLE I 



Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro- 
hibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES 269 

press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the gov- 
ernment for a redress of grievances. 

AKTICLE II 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the 
right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE in 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the con- 
sent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and 
no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirma- 
tion, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, 
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising 
in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of 
war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to 
be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use 
without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and 
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime 
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascer- 
tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to 
be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for 
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his 
defence. 



270 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty 
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury 
shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than accord- 
ing to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE Vm 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel 
and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed 
to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the 
people. 

ARTICLE XI 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to 
any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens, of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign 
State. 

ARTICLE XH 

1. The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person 
voted for as President; and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as Presi- 
dent and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes 
for each; which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 
of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. 
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. 
The person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 271 

■ ■ — ^— 

appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having 
the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as 
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, 
the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by 
States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And 
if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the 
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next 
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall 
be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest 
numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for 
the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a 
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall 
be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for 
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the 
United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the 
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein 
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any 
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according 
to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, 
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for 
the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, 



272 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, 
or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of 
the United States, or in any way abridged except for participation in 
rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall 
bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such State. 

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or 
elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or mili- 
tary, under the United States or under any State, who, having previ- 
ously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the 
United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an execu- 
tive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the 
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress 
may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized 
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties 
for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques- 
tioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or 
pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of 
any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legisla- 
tion, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the sev- 
eral States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 273 

ARTICLE XVII. 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators 
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each 
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislatures. 

2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of elec- 
tion to fill such vacancies: Provided that the legislature of any State 
may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments 
until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may 
direct. 

3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 



INDEX 

Figures Refer to Sections. 



Absolute Monarchy: defined, 11. 

Absolute Pardon: defined, 108. 

Accused! Persons: rights of, 305, 
317. 

Acquisition of Territory : 270. 

Actions in Court: civil and crimi- 
nal, 145. 

Administration: a model, 353. 

Agricultural and Engineering Col- 
lege: for white race, 172; for 
colored race, 174. 

Agricultural Experiment and Con- 
trol Station: 172. 

Albany Congress: 33. 

Aliens: 275. 

Allegiance: 53, 273. 

Amendment: methods ©f, 62, 70. 

Amendments : to state constitution, 
64-69-69a, 279; to United States 
constitution, 71-76. 

Appalachian Training School: 174. 

.Appeal: right of, 323. 

A A pellate Jurisdiction : defined and 
xplained', 132; of state supreme 
c mrt, 137; of superior court, 
143; of federal supreme court, 
255; of federal inferior courts, 
259, 261, 262. 

Appointments : federal compared 
with state, 58, 59; by the gov- 
ernor, 106; by the president, 232. 

Apportionment: of state senators', 
85; of representatives in the leg- 
islature, 86; rule of, 199. 

Arbitration : 12. 

Arson: defined, 336. 

Articles of Confederation: first 
constitution, 49; defects in, 50; 
compared with existing federal 
constitution, 51-54. 

Assistant Attorney-General: 139. 

Assistant District Attorney: 257. 

Attainder: bill of, 215. 

Attainder of Treason: 334. 



Attorney-General (State) : execu- 
tive officer, 100; term of office, 
101; installation, 102; special 
duties, 122; general duties, 123, 
139. 

Attorney : General (U.S.): powers 
and' duties, 247. 

Auditor: executive officer, 100; 
term of office, 101 ; installation, 
102; special duties, 116; gen- 
eral duties, 117. 

Bail : for appearance at' court, 325. 

Bank Examiners : appointment and 
duties, 159. 

Banks: stock listed, 117; super- 
vision of, 159. 

Bill of Attainder: 215. 

Bill of Indictment: 147. 

Bill of Rights: 27. 

Bills: how they become laws, 87. 

Blount, William: 51. 

Board of Agriculture: 125. 

Board of Internal Improvements: 
128. 

Board of Public Charities: 129. 

Bonds: 119. 

Bureau of Labor and Printing: 
127. 

Burgesses: house of, 21. 

Bribery: defined, 346. 

Burglary: defined', 337. 

Burrington, Governor: 21. 

Burr, Aaron: election of, 326. 

Cabinet : members of, 327 ; order of 
succession to presidency, 228. 

Cabinet Officers: powers and du- 
ties, 242-250. 

Capital Stock: defined, 117. 

Caswell, Richard: 30, 35. 

Census: 85. 

Census Bureau: 248. 

Certificates of Election: prepared 
by secretary of state, 115. 



[275] 



276 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Certificates of Incorporation: 115. 

Charitable Institutions: 175. 

Charter: Raleigh's, 15: of the lords 
proprietors, 16; as constitution, 17. 

Charter Government: in North Caro- 
lina, 15-19. 

Charters to Corporations: granted 
by secretary of state, 115. 

Church and State: 288. 

Circuit Courts: organization and juris- 
diction, 258. 

Circuit Court of Appeals: organiza- 
tion and jurisdiction, 259. 

Cities: municipal corporations, 178; 
power to make debts and collect 
taxes, 179: poll tax, 180; govern- 
ment of, 181. 

Citizen: natural-born, 274; natura- 
lized, 276; a model, 352. 

Civic Righteousness: 298. 

Civil Actions: defined and explained, 
145. 

Civil Liberty: denned and explained, 
285. 

Civil Rights: 291. 

Civil Service: 231. 

Civil War: cause of, 46. 

Clerk of Corporation Commission: 155. 

Clerk of District Court (U. S.): 257. 

Clerk of Superior Court: 185. 

Clerk of Supreme Court: 139. 

Commander-in-chief: governor, 107; 
president, 236. 

Commissioner of Agriculture: election 
and duties, 125. 

Commissioner of Labor and Printing: 
election and duties, 127. 

Committee: of Correspondence, 23; 
of Safety, 23, 25, 26; of Five, 23. 

Common Law: 263, 330, 348. 

Commutation: 108. 

Conditional Pardon: 108. 

Congress: first Provincial, 23; second 
Provincial, 24; third Provincial, 25; 
fourth Provincial, 26; fifth Provin- 
cial, 27; Albany, 33; Stamp Act, 
34; first Continental, 35; second 
Continental, 36; control of Conti- 
nental, 39, 40; present use of word, 



47; compared ;; vith legislature, 56; 
Halifax, 63: tne two houses of, 191; 
term, 192; senate, 193; election of 
senators, 195; house of representa- 
tives, 196; election of representa- 
tives, 197; qualification of repre- 
sentatives, 198; rule of apportion- 
ment, 199; delegates from the terri- 
tories, 200; elections, 201; officers, 
202; compensation of members, 203; 
privileges of members, 204; meth- 
od of business, 205; rules of pro- 
cedure, 206; impeachment, 207; 
vacancies, 208; powers, 209; re- 
strictions, 210; taxes levied by, 
211; interstate commerce regulated 
by, 212; copyrights and patents, 
213; letters of marque and reprisal, 
214; bill of attainder,215; ex 'post 
facto law, 216; inferior courts, 217. 
courts established by, 256. 

Constable 186. 

Constitution: charter as, 17; Locke's, 
19; meaning of, 42, 44; first state, 
47; first federal, 49; adoption of 
existing federal, 52; of 1868; 66-69; 
familiarity with, 299. 

Constitutional Safeguards : state, 300- 
310, federal, 311-317; compared 
and explained, 314-330. 

Constitutions: outline of state and 
national, 41-77; comparison of two 
federal, 51-54. 

Continental Congress : control of, 39,40 

Convention of 1787: 51. 

Copyrights: 213. 

Coroner: 188. 

Corporation: defined, 177. 

Corporation Commission: organiza- 
tion, 155: supervisory powers, 156; 
powers to make rates and regu- 
lations, 157; powers in regard to 
taxation, 158; supervision of banks, 
159. 

Corporations: charters granted by 
legislature, 97; how formed, 115; 
reports of, 117; supervision of 156; 
municipal, 178-188; other than 
municipal, 189, 190. 



INDEX 



277 



"Corruption of Blood": explained, 
334. 

Council: governor's, 18, 20. 

Council of State: organization and 
duties, 108. 

Counterfeiting: defined, 347. 

Counties: municipal corporations, 179; 
power to make debts and collect 
taxes, 179; poll tax, 180; govern- 
ment of, 182-188. 

County Board of Education: organi- 
zation and duties, 163. 

County Commissioners : board of , 183. 

County Superintendent : election, 
qualifications, and duties, 164. 

Coupon Bonds: 119. 

Courts: and the laws, 45; as affected 
bv legislature, 94; state, 131, 151, 

152; federal, 251, 256. 

Court of Claims: organization and 
jurisdiction, 260. 

Court of Impeachment: state senate 
as a, 133; United States senate as 
a, 207. 

Courts in the District of Columbia: 
organization and jurisdiction, 262. 

Criminal Action: defined and ex- 
plained, 145. 

Davie, William R.: 51. 

Declaration of Independence: 37, 77. 

Declaration of Rights: 27, 30. 

Defendant: 145. 

Democracy: definition of, 11. 

Department of Agriculture: state, 125; 
United States, 249. 

Departments of Government: 55, 78. 

(See also North Carolina and United 
States Government.) 

District Attorney (U. S.): 257. 

District Courts (U. S.): organization 
and jurisdiction, 257. 

Drummond, William: 16. 

Due Process of Law: 329. 

Duties: levied by national govern- 
ment, 51; explained, 211. 

East Carolina Teachers' Training 
School: 174. 



Education: right to, 160; state board 
of, 124, 161. 

Elections: by the general assembly, 
90; voting in state and national, 
277; freedom and frequency of, 300, 
318. 

Electoral College: meeting of, "223, 
224. 

Electors: presidential, 222-224 

Embezzlement: defined, 341. 

Equality before the Law: 315. 

Excise: explained, 21. 

Executive Department of Govern- 
ment: brief view of, 55. 

Executive Department (state): or- 
ganization and structure, 100-102; 
the governor, 103-110; lieutenant 
governor, 111-114; secretary of 
state, 114-115; auditor, 116, 117; 
treasurer, 118, 119; attorney-gen- 
eral, 122, 123; superintendent of 
public instruction, 120, 121 ; boards 
and departments, 124-130. 

Executive Department (U. S.): gen- 
eral powers and structure, 218-231; 
the president, 232-239; the vice- 
president, 241; the cabinet of- 
ficers, 242-250. 

Experiment Stations: 249. 

Ex Post Facto Law: explained, 216. 

Extra Session: of general assembly, 
80; of Congress, 191. 

Federal and State Relations: supre- 
macy of federal government, 265; 
protection to the states, 266; pro- 
hibitions to the states, 267. 

Federal Appointments: compared 
with state, 58, 59. 

Federal Constitution: first, 49; adop- 
tion of the existing, 52; supreme 
law, 53; safeguards in, 311-315. 

Federal Constitutions: compared, 51- 
54. 

Federal Government: (See United 
States Government.) 

Federal Officers: appointment, term, 
and removal, 58. 

Federal Principle: 43. 



278 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Felony: defined, 332. 

Fisheries Commission Board: 130a. 

Forgery: defined', 339. 

Freedom and Frequency of Elec- 
tions: 300, 318. 

Freedom of Assembly: 318. 

Freedom of Speech: 318. 

Freedom of the Press: 301, 318. 

Free Government: first principles, 
77. 

Fundamental Constitutions : 
Locke's, 19. 

General Assembly: compared with 
Congress, 56; compensation of 
members, 67; time of meeting, 
79; extra session, 80; qualifica- 
tion and compensation of mem- 
bers, 81; houses distinct, 82; 
proceedings public, 83; joint ses- 
sion, 84; apportionment of sena- 
tors, 85; apportionment of rep- 
resentatives, 86 ; constitutional 
regulation, 87; presiding officers 
88; duties of speaker, 89; elec- 
tions by, 90; impeachment by, 
91; offices created by, 92; sus- 
pension of laws, 93; and the 
courts, 94; taxing power, 95; 
special legislation forbidden, 96; 
corporations formed by, 97 ; sala- 
ries and fees fixed by, 98; audi- 
tor reports to, 117; treasurer re- 
ports to, 119. 

General Pardon: 108. 

Geological Survey: 248. 

Government: definition of, 10; 
forms of, 11; purposes of, 12-14; 
formation in North Carolina, 15- 
30; charter, 15-19; royal, 20,21; 
permanent, 28-30; formation of 
the general, 3 1 -40 ; failure of pro- 
vincial, 46; state and federal 
compared, 55-61. ( See also North 
Carolina and U. S. Government.) 

Governor : under charter govern- 
ment, 18; veto power withheld 
from, 29; compared with presi- 
dent, 57, 60; executive officer, 
100; term of officers, 101; inau- 
guration, 102; general powers 
and restrictions, 103; residence, 



104; messages, 105; appointing 
power, 106; commander-in-chief, 
107; pardoning power, 108; and 
council of state, 109; private sec- 
retary, 109; succession to the of- 
fice of, 111, 113; auditor reports 
to, 117; treasurer reports to, 
119; superintendent of public 
instruction reports to, 121 ; par- 
don by, 283. 

Grand Jury: duties, 147; selec- 
tion, 148. 

"Grand Model": Locke's, 19. 

Great Seal : of North Carolina, 86 ; 
of the United States, 242. 

Habeas Corpus: explained, 310. 

Halifax Congress: 63. 

Harvey, Colonel John: 23, 24. 

Hereditary Emoluments: 30, 310. 

Hewes, Joseph : 35, 37. 

High Seas: crimes on, 345. 

Historical Commission : organiza- 
tion and' duties, 130. 

Hooper, William: 35, 37. 

House of Burgesses: 21. 

House of Representatives (state) : 
(See General Assembly.) 

House of Representatives (nation- 
al) : branch of Congress, 191; 
session, 192; organization, 196; 
election of members, 197; quali- 
fication of members, 198; rule 
of apportionment, 199; delegates 
from territories, 200; presiding 
officer, 202; election by, 225; 
226. (See also Congress.) 

Human Law ; 7. 

Impeachment : by legislature, 78, 
91, 133; by Congress, 207, 220. 

Imposts: explained, 211. 

Imprisonment : delivery from un- 
lawful, 324. 

Inalienable Rights: as to the sale 
of, 292. 

Independence: spirit of, 21; decla- 
ration of, 37. 

Indian Affairs: commissioner of, 
248. 

Indictment: by grand jury, 147; 
defined, 310. 



INDEX 



279 



InferiorC ourts (state): organization, 

powers, and jurisdiction, 151-154. 

Inferior Courts (U. S.): power of Con- 
gress to establish, 217; courts es- 
tablished by Congress, 256; dis- 
trict courts, 257; circuit courts, 268; 
circuit court of appeals, 259; court 
of claims, 260; territorial courts, 
261; courts in the District of Col- 
umbia, 262. 

Insurance Commissioner: duties, 126. 

Insurance Department: 126. 

Internal Revenue: levied by national 
government, 51; explained, 211. 

Interstate Commerce: 61, 212. 

Interstate Relations: constitutional 
provision, 268. 

Issue of Fact : 145. 

Jarvis, Governor: 111. 

Jefferson, Thomas: 37, 226. 

Johnston, Samuel: 25. 

Joint Session : of general assembly, 84; 
of Congress, 224. 

Judicial Department of Government: 
brief view of, 55. 

Judicial Department (state): struc- 
ture, powers, and jurisdiction, 131- 
133; court of impeachment, 133; 
supreme court, 134-139; superior 
court, 140-150; other courts, 151- 
154; corporation commission, 155- 
159. 

Judicial Department (U. S.): struc- 
ture, powers, and jurisdiction, 251, 
252; supreme court, 253-255; in- 
ferior courts, 256-263. 

Judicial Districts: state, 141; United 
States, 257. 

Judicial Power: denned, 131; of state 
courts, 132; of United States 
courts, 252. 

Jurisdiction: defined and explained, 
132; of state supreme court, 137, 
138; of superior court, 143, 144; of 
inferior courts, 151; of special court 
152; of justice of the peace, 153; of 
federal courts, 252; of supreme 
court, 254, 255; of inferior federal 
courts, 257-262. 



Jury: grand, 147: selection of, 148. 
Jury Trial: 146, 263, 307, 316, 319, 

320. 
Justice of the Peace: jurisdiction and 

powers, 153, 154. 

Key Words and Principles: 1-14. 

Land Grants: 115. 

Land Office: 248. 

Lane, Governor Ralph: 15. 

Larceny: denned, 338. 

Law: natural, 5; moral, 6; how made 
7; punishment for violation, 8; 
foundations of, 41-50; of the land, 
53; suspension of, 93. 

Legislative Department of Govern- 
ment: brief view of, 55. 

Legislative Department (state): or- 
ganization and structure, 78-89; 
powers and restrictions, 90-99. 

Legislative Department (U. S.): or- 
ganization and structure, 191-208; 
powers and restrictions, 209, 210; 
terms and phrases defined and ex- 
plained, 211-217. 

Legislature: under charter govern- 
ment, 18, 20; both houses elected, 
28. (See also General Assembly.) 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal: ex- 

£lained, 214. 
liberties : defined and explained, 284- 
290. 

Liberties and Rights: safeguards of, 
298-328. 

Liberty: natural, 285; civil, 286; re- 
ligious, 287. 

Lieutenant Governor: compared with 
vice-president, 56; as presiding 
officer, 88; executive officer, 101; 
term of office, 101; installation, 102 
when governor, 111; president of 
the senate, 112; succession, 113. 

Limited Monarchy: definition of, 11. 

Literary Fund : 161. 

Local Self -Government : defined, 318. 

Locke, John: 19. 

Lords Proprietors : 16-20. 

Lost Citizenship: 283. 



280 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Marriage Licenses: 184. 

Marshal of Supreme Court: 139. 

Martin, Alexander: 51. 

Martin, Governor: 23, 24. 

Mayor as a Court: 152. 

Mecklenburg County, 26. 

Messages: of the governor, 106; of 
the president, 218. 

Method of Voting: in general as- 
sembly, 87. 

Military Academy: 244. 

Military Power: 237, 303, 314. 

Militia: 130b. 

Misdemeanors: defined, 332. 

Monarchy: defined, 11. 

Monopolies: defined, 30. 

Moral Disqualifications: as to 
holding office, 282. 

Moral Law: 6. 

Municipal Corporations : corpora- 
tion defined, 177; a division of 
the state, 178; power to make 
debts and collect taxes, 179; poll 
tax, 180; government of cities, 
towns, and incorporated villages, 
181 ; counties as corporate bodies, 
182; and board of county com- 
missioners, 183; register of deeds, 
184 ; clerk of superior court, 185 ; 
sheriff, 186; treasurer, 187; coro- 
ner, 188. 

Murder: defined, 335. 

Nation: defined, 3; decay of, 4. 

National Government: (See United 
States Government.) 

Natural-born Citizens: 274. 

Naturalized Citizens: 276. 

Natural Law: explained, 5. 

Natural Liberty: defined, 285. 

Naval Academy: 245. 

New England Confederation: 32. 

New Trial: when granted by su- 
preme court, 137. 

North Carolina : purpose of the gov- 
ernment of, 14 ; formation of gov- 
ernment in, 15-30; federal con- 
stitution adopted by, 52; legisla- 
tive department of the govern- 
ment of, 78-99 ; executive depart- 



ment of the government of, 100- 
130; judicial department of the 
government of, 131-159; aids to 
the government of, 160-190; fed- . 
eral courts in, 257-258. 

North Carolina Day: 169. 

North Carolina School for the Deaf 
and Dumb: 175. 

Oath of Office: 53, 87. 

Office: corruption in, 346. 

Offices: created by statute, 92, 106; 
created by Congress, 230; as to 
the sale of, 295. 

Open Courts : 306, 322. 

Organic Law: 44. 

Original Jurisdiction: defined and' 
explained, 132; of state supreme 
court, 138; of superior court 
144; of other state courts, 151 
153; of federal supreme court 
254; of inferior federal courts 
257, 258, 260, 262. 

Pardons: by governor, 108, 283 
by president, 238, 283. 

Patents: 213. 

Patent Office: 248. 

Penn, John: 37, 39. 

Pension Office: 248. 

Perjury: defined, 340. 

Perpetuities: 30, 310. 

Personal Security : right of, 327. 

Petit Jury: duties, 146; selection, 
148. 

Petty Misdemeanors: defined, 332. 

Piracy: defined', 345. 

Plaintiff: 145- 

Plea: 145. 

Pleadings: 145. 

Penitentiary: 176. 

Point of Order: 89. 

Political Rights: unlawful to sell, 
293. 

Poll Tax: 180. 

Popular Will: exercise of, 318. 

Postmaster-General : powers, and 
duties, 246. 

Preamble: to United States consti- 
tution, 13; to North Carolina 
constitution, 14. 



INDEX 



281 



President: compared with governor, 
57, 60: executive power, 218; qua- 
lifications, 219; impeachment, 220; 
vice-president succeeds, 221; elec- 
tors, 222; electoral college, 223, 
224; election by the house of repre- 
sentatives, 225, 226; the cabinet, 
227; succession, 228; appointing 
power, 229, 230, 232; removals, 233; 
recess appointments, 234; super- 
vision, 235; commander-in-chief, 
236; military power restricted, 237; 
pardoning power, 238; veto power, 
239; treaty-making power, 240; 
pardon by, 283. 

Presidential Electors: 222-224. 

Private Corporations : 190. 

Private Property: right of, 328. 

Private Rights: sale of, 294. 

Private Secretary: of the governor, 
110. 

Private Wrongs : torts, 349; redress, 
350; prevention, 351. 

Prohibitions to the States: constitu- 
tional provisions, 267. 

Property Qualification Forbidden: 
308. 

Protection of the Law : 304. 

Protection to the States : constitution- 
al provisions, 266. 

Province: becomes a state, 22-27. 

Provincial Congress: first, 23; sec- 
ond, 24; third, 25; fourth, 26; fifth 
27. 

Provincial Council: 25, 26. 

Provincial Government: failure of, 46. 

Public Property : as to the sale of, 297. 

Public School System: right to edu- 
cation, 160; state board of educa- 
tion, 161; superintendent of public 
instruction, 162; county board of 
education, 163; county superinten- 
dent, 164; school committee, 165; 
teachers, 166; special tax, 167; ru- 
ral libraries, 168; Xorth Carolina 
Day, 169; increased facilities, 170; 
educational institutions, 171-174. 

Public Wrongs: explained and classi- 
fied, 331; and their prevention, 332; 



named and defined, 333-341; 343- 
348. 
Punishment: for violating law, 5-7; 
for wrongs against the state, 342. 

Quasi-Public Corporations: 189. 
Quorum: 89. 

Raleigh: capital of state, 83, 104. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter: 15. 

Rates: made by corporation commis- 
sion, 157. 

Record of Proceedings: in general as- 
sembly, 87. 

Redress: for private wrongs, 350. 

Referee: trial by, 149. 

Registered Bonds: 119. 

Register of Deeds: 184. 

Registrars: 279. 

Registration: 279. 

Religious Liberty: defined and ex- 
plained, 287; constitutional provis- 
ions, 301; as a safeguard, 318. 

Reporter of Supreme Court : 139. 

Representatives: state and national 
compared, 56. (See also Congress, 
House o) Representatives , and Gend- 
ered Assembly.) 

Republic: defined, 11. 

Revenue and Machinery Acts: con- 
strued by treasurer, 119. 

Rights: liberties become, 289; defined 
and explained, 291-296. 

Rights and Liberties: safeguards of, 
298-328. 

Rights of Accused Persons : 305, 317. 

Right of Worship : inalienable, 297. 

Right to Vote: how fixed, 279. 

Roman Empire : causes of decline and 
fall, 4. 

Rural Libraries: 168. 

Safeguards of Rights and Liberties: 
training for citizenship, 298, 299; 
safeguards in the state constitu- 
tion, 300-31*0; safeguards in the 
federal constitution, 311-315; con- 
stitutional safeguards compared 
and explained, 316-328. 

School Committee: 165. 



282 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



Secretary of Agriculture (U. S.) : 
powers and duties, 249. 

Secretary of Commerce and Labor: 
powers and duties, 250. 

Secretary of State ( state : execu- 
tive officer, 100; term of office, 
101; installation, 102; special 
duties, 114; general duties, 115. 

Secretary of State ( U. S, ) : powers 
and duties, 242. 

Secretary of the Interior: powers 
and duties, 248. 

Secretary of the Navy : powers and 
duties, 245. 

Secretary of the Treasury: powers 
and duties, 243. 

Secretary of War: powers and du- 
ties, 244. 

Senators: state and national com- 
pared, 56; apportionment of 
state, 85. (See also Congress, 
General Assembly and Senate.) 

Senate (state) : as a court, 81, 133. 
(See also General Assembly.) 

Senate (U. S.) : branch of Con- 
gress, 191; session, 192; organi- 
zation, 183 ; election of members, 
194; qualification of members, 
195 ; presiding officers, 202. ( See 
also Congress.) 

Senatorial Districts:* 85. 

Sheriff: 186. 

Slavery Prohibited: 309. 

Smuggling: defined, 348. 

Solicitor: election and! duties, 150. 

Spaight, Richard Dobbs: 51. 

Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives : state, 88, 89 ; national, 202. 

Special Courts: organization, pow- 
ers, and jurisdiction, 152. 

Special Legislation Forbidden: 96. 

Special Privileges Forbidden: 302. 

Special Tax: 167. 

Stamp Act Congress: 34. 

State : definition of, 1 ; of the Amer- 
ican Union, 2; the province be- 
comes a, 22-27; protection to, 
266; prohibitions to, 267; and 



church, 288; offenses against, 
333-342. (See also North Caro- 
lina. ) 

State and Federal Relations: su- 
premacy of federal government, 
265; protection to the states, 
266; prohibitions to the states, 
267. 

State Board of Education: organi- 
zation and duties, 124; as an aid 
to government, 161. 

SU i Board of Health: 130a. 

State Highway Commission: 130a. 

State Constitution : first, 47 ; meth- 
ods of amendment, 62; amend- 
ment, 63-69 ; safeguards in, 300- 
310. 

State Government: purposes of, 
14 ; compared with federal, 55-61. 
(See also North Carolina.) 

State Institutions: treasurer of, 
119; the University, 171; State 
College of Agriculture and Engi- 
neering, 172; State Normal and 
Industrial College, 173; other 
educational institutions, 174; 
charitable institutions, 175; 
state's prison, 176. 

State Library Commission: 130a. 

State Normal and Industrial Col- 
lege: 173. 

State School for the Blind: 175. 

State's Prison: 176. 

Statutes: defined, 8. 

Subpoena : 89. 

Suit at Common Law: explained, 
263. 

Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion: executive officer, 100; term 
of office, 101; installation, 102; 
special duties, 120; general du- 
ties, 121 ; as an aid to govern- 
ment, 162. 

Superior Court: cases reviewed by 
supreme court, 137; an interest- 
ing court, 140; judges and judi- 
cial districts, 141; term, 142; 
appellate jurisdiction, 143; orig- 



INDEX 



283 



inal jurisdiction, 144; procedure, 
145; jury trial, 146; grand jury, 
147; selection of jury, 148; trial 
by referee, 149; officers, 150. 

Supremacy of the Federal Govern- 
ment : constitutional provisions, 
265. 

Supreme Court (state) : amend- 
ment of 1888, 68; judges, 134; 
judicial power, 135; business 
and procedure, 136; appellate 
jurisdiction, 137; original juris- 
diction, 138; officers, 139. 

Supreme Court (U. S.) : organiza- 
tion, 253; original jurisdiction, 
254; appellate jurisdiction, 255. 

Tariff: defined, 211. 

Taxation: cause of war, 46; and 
general assembly, 95; and cor- 
poration commission, 158. 

Taxes: federal, 51; state, 180; 
state and federal, 211. 

Teachers: duties, 166. 

Territorial Courts: 261. 

Territories: delegates from, 200, 
272. 

Territory: defined, 269; acquisi- 
tion of, 270; power of acquisi- 
tion, 271; government, 272. 

Text-book Commission: 130a. 

Torts: defined and explained, 349. 

Towns : municipal corporation, 
178; power to make debts and 
collect taxes, 179; poll tax, 180; 
government of, 181. 

Township Government: abolished, 
67. 

Training for Citizenship: civic 
righteousness, 298 ; familiarity 
with constitution, 299. 

Treason: against the state, 334; 
against the United States, 344. 

Treasurer (county) : 187. 

Treasurer (state) : executive offi- 
cer, 100; term of office, 101; in- 
stallation, 102; special duties, 
118; general duties, 119, 



Treaties: 53, 240, 242. 
Treaty-Making Power: 240. 
Trial by Jury: 307, 316, 319. 
Trial by Referee: 149. 
"Twice in Jeopardy;" plea of, 326. 

Union: causes of, 31. 

United States Government: pur- 
poses of, 13 ; formation of, 31-40 ; 
compared! with . ate, 55-61 ; leg- 
islative department, 191-217; ex- 
ecutive department, 218-250; ju- 
dicial department, 251-263; pow- 
er to acquire territory, 271; of- 
fenses against, 343-348. 

University of North Carolina: 171. 

Vacancies in Offices: state and na- 
tional compared, 60; in general 
assembly, 87; filled by governor, 
106; in United States senate, 208. 

Vance, Governor: 111. 

Veto Power : of president, 239. 

Vice-president : compared with lieu- 
tenant governor, 56; presiding 
officer of senate, 302; succeeds 
president, 221 ; election, 222-226; 
powers and duties, 241. 

Villages (incorporated) : munici- 
pal corporations, 178; power to 
make debts and collect taxes, 
179; poll tax, 180; government 
. of, 181. 

Viva Voce: 87. 

Voters and Office Holders: 278. 

Warrants: 145, 322. 

Washington, George: 36, 51, 53. 

Weather Bureau: 249. 

White, Governor John, 15. 

Williamson, Hugh: 51. 

Wrongs' and Their Remedies : class- 
ified and explained, 331, 332; 
offenses against the state, 333- 
342 ; offenses against the United 
States, 343-351. 

Yeas and! Nays : 87. 



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